IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL PUNE BENCH “A”, PUNE BEFORE SHRI R. K. PANDA, VICE PRESIDENT AND MS ASTHA CHANDRA, JUDICIAL MEMBER Assessment Year : 2022-23 DCIT (Exemption) Maharashtra State Board of Secondary Circle, Pune Vs. & Higher Secondary Education Shivaji Nagar, Pune – 411005 PAN: AAAJM1081B (Appellant) (Respondent)

CO No.19/PUN/2025 Assessment Year : 2022-23 Maharashtra State Board of Secondary DCIT (Exemption)

& Higher Secondary Education Vs. Circle, Pune Shivaji Nagar, Pune – 411005 PAN: AAAJM1081B (Cross Objector) (Respondent)

Assessee by : Shri Piyush Bafna Department by : Shri Ratnakar Bhimrao Shelake Date of hearing : 10-09-2025 Date of pronouncement : 24-10-2025

O R D E R

PER R.K. PANDA, VP :

This appeal filed by the Revenue is directed against the order dated

31.01.2025 of the Ld. Addl / JCIT(A)-2, Gurugram relating to assessment year 2022-23. The assessee has filed the Cross Objections vide CO No.19/PUN/2025 against the appeal filed by the Revenue. For the sake of convenience, the appeal filed by the Revenue and the Cross Objections filed by the assessee were heard together and are being disposed off by this common order.

2. Facts of the case, in brief, are that the assessee is an artificial juridical person and is an autonomous statutory body established in 1965 by Special Act in Maharashtra State Legislative Assembly under the provisions of the Maharashtra Act No.41 of 1965 i.e. Maharashtra Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Boards Act, 1965. It conducts the higher secondary certificate and secondary school certificate examinations in the entire state of Maharashtra through its nine Divisional Boards located at Pune, Mumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nashik, Kolhapur, Amravati, Latur, Nagpur and Ratnagiri. It filed its return of income on 23.11.2022 declaring Nil income after claiming exemption u/s 10(46) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’). During the year under consideration the total receipts of the assessee were Rs.1,91,86,33,440/- out of which the total application of income towards the objects of the assessee board were Rs.1,85,94,67,002/- and the assessee board has balance amount of Rs.5,91,66,438/- which was claimed as exempt. The assessee has filed audit report in Form No.10B on 31.03.2024 along with copy of audited Income & Expenditure statement for financial year ending as on 31.03.2022. The CPC vide intimation dated 28.07.2023 rejected the claim of deduction u/s 10(46) of the Act.

3. Before the Ld. Addl / JCIT(A) it was argued that it was inadvertently claimed exemption u/s 10(46) whereas the assessee is entitled to claim exemption u/s 10(23C) of the Act. It was submitted that the approval for exemption u/s

10(23C) has been granted by the PCIT for assessment years 2022-23 to 2026-27.

4. Based on the arguments advanced by the assessee the Ld. Addl / JCIT(A)

allowed the claim of deduction u/s 10(23C)(iv) of the Act by observing as under:

5. Aggrieved with such order of the Ld. Addl / JCIT(A), the Revenue is in appeal before the Tribunal by raising the following grounds:

1. On the facts and circumstances of the case, the Ld. Addl/JCIT(A) has erred in allowing claim of exemption by the assessee at the appellate stage despite the fact that the same was not claimed in the original return of income.

2. On the facts and circumstances of the case, the Ld. Addl/JCIT(A) has failed to appreciate that the intimation u/s 143(1) was issued correctly based on the information available in the return of income, wherein the assessee had claimed exemption u/s 10(46) of the Act and not u/s 10(23C)(iv) of the Act.

3. On the facts and circumstances of the case, the Ld. Addl/JCIT(A) has erred in deciding that the total accumulation of income of the assessee of Rs.5,91,66,438/- was claimed inadvertently as exempt u/s 10(46) instead of u/s 10(23C)(iv) of the Act when it was consciously claimed by the assessee in the return of income.

4. On the facts & circumstances of the case, it is prayed t