IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, RAIPUR BENCH, RAIPUR BEFORE HON’BLE SHRI PARTHA SARATHI CHAUDHURY, JUDICIAL MEMBER AND SHRI G. D. PADMAHSHALI, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER ITA No. 476/RPR/2025 Assessment Year: 2018-19 Jhaiji Shikshan Samiti, Arora Niwas, Ward No. 08, Durg Road, Bemetara, Durg-491335, Chhattisgarh PAN: AAATJ7624B ……….Appellant V/s Dy. Commissioner of Income Tax, Exemption Circle, MP ……….Respondent Appearances Assessee by: Mr Yogesh Sethia [‘Ld. AR’]

Revenue by: Ms Manisha Kinnu [‘Ld. DR’] Date of conclusive Hearing : 08/09/2025 Date of Pronouncement : 09/09/2025

ORDER

PER G. D. PADMAHSHALI, The captioned appeal is filed by the assessee challenging DIN & Order No. ITBA/APL/S/250/2024-25/1074287119(1) dt. 10/03/2025 passed by Addl./Jt. Commissioner of Income Tax, Appeals-1, Visakhapatnam [‘Ld. CIT(A)’] u/s 250 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 [‘the Act’] which in turn sprung out of order of rectification passed u/s 154 of the Act by Centralized Processing Center, Bangaluru [‘Ld.

CPC’] anent to assessment year 2018-19[‘AY’].

2. The only issue in this appeal revolves around denial of exemption u/s 11 & 12 of the Act for filing of audit report after filing return of income but within the prescribed/extended due date.

3. Briefly stated the facts of the case are that

3.1 The assessee is a charitable institution registered u/s 12A of the Act which filed its return of Income on 27/10/2018. The Audit Report in prescribed Form No. 10B r.w.r. 17B of the Income Tax Rules, 1962[‘IT-Rules’] however was filed on 28/10/2018. The return of Income filed by the assessee was processed u/s 143(1) of the Act summarily on 17/10/2019 whereby the exemption for section 11 and 12 of the Act was denied by the Ld. CPC on the solitary ground that, the audit report was filed subsequent to filing of return. Thus, there was non-compliance with provisions of section 12A(1)(b) of the Act.

3.2 Against former denial, the assessee filed an application for rectification u/s 154 of the Act on 19/12/2019. Reverberating the reasons spelt in summary assessment the Ld. CPC rejected the said application for rectification on 06/01/2020. Aggrieved by the action of Ld. CPC the assessee filed first appeal u/s 246A of the Act before the Ld. CIT(A) which was dismissed bringing no relief to the assessee.

4. Being unsuccessful in first appeal, the assessee came in present appeal before the Tribunal on as many as four grounds, which considered to be inconsonance with rule 8 of Income Tax Appellate Rules, 1963 [ITAT-Rules’] hence reproduction thereof is dispensed with. However it shall suffice to state that, the only issue to be adjudicated here is that, ‘as to whether filing of Audit Report in Form No 10B after filing of return of income disentitles the assessee for claim of exemption u/s 11 & 12 of the Act.

5. During the course of hearing, the Ld. AR appearing on behalf of appellant assessee after adverting to Pg 27 of the paper book submitted that, neither the return nor the Form-10B was filed belatedly but within the extended due date allowed by the Central Board of Direct Tax [‘CBDT’] vide F.No. 225/358/2018/ITA.II dt. 08/10/2018. The sole reason behind denial of exemption by the Revenue is attributed towards filing of audit report after filing of return. As return as well as audit report were filed within the extended due date, therefore there was no default on the part of the assessee in complying with the provisions of section 12A r.w.r. 17B (supra). For the purpose of giving effect to section 11 and 12 of the Act, at the time of processing of ITR the audit report was already on record before Ld. CPC, therefore there was no logic in denying the exemption merely the audit report was filed after filing of return. To cut the denial to corner, the Ld. Sethia averred that, since the filing of audit report was obtained and filed within the extended due date therefore there was no disqualification attracted. Filing of audit report after filing of return cannot be fatal so as to tak