Income Tax | Delay in Filing Form 10-B Due To COVID Cannot Deny S.11 Exemption: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court held that the exemption under Section 11 of the Income Tax Act cannot be denied merely on account of delay in filing the Form 10-B Audit Report when such delay was caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Justices Battu Devanand and A. Hari Haranadha Sarma observed that the assessee is a religious and charitable society and has to comply with the instructions issued by the Income Tax Department through their letter. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the assessee could not attend the letter issued by the Department and the documents sought by the Department were not furnished within the stipulated time. Section 11 of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961, provides for the exemption of income derived from property held under a trust for charitable or religious purposes. In the case at hand, the assessee/petitioner is a religious society that was running a small church, and all the income was received by way of offerings from the people who participated in the weekly Sunday prayer meetings and special prayer meetings. For the Assessment Year 2021-22, the assessee submitted its audit report with a delay of 44 days due to exceptional circumstances arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic and the advanced age (78 years) of its treasurer, who was responsible for compliance. The Central Processing Centre (CPC) denied exemption under Section 11 of the Income Tax Act and passed an order imposing tax liability of Rs.5,68,900/- solely on the ground that the Form 10-B audit report was filed after the due date. The assessee submitted an application to the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions) seeking to condone the delay of 44 days, which was rejected. The revenue submitted that if the documents sought by the Income Tax Department vide letter, dated 19.04.2023, which are relevant to consider the request of the assessee, were furnished, the request of the assessee may not be rejected. The bench observed that the assessee is involved in religious and charitable activities, and the treasurer of the assessee's society is aged 78 years, and he is responsible for submitting returns to the Income Tax Department and complying with the instructions issued by the Income Tax Department in their Letter, dated 19.04.2023. The bench found that due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the assessee could not attend the letter, dated 19.04.2023, issued by the Department and the documents sought by the Department were not furnished within the stipulated time. The bench allowed the assessee to submit the remaining documents within three weeks. In view of the above, the bench allowed the petition. Case Title: M/s Amnos Evangelical v. The Centralized Processing Centre, Bengaluru Case Number: WRIT PETITION NO: 8798 OF 2025 Counsel for Petitioner/Assessee: Vinodin Ruth Madapalli Counsel for Respondent/Department: Y N Vivekananda 2026 LLBiz HC (APH) 2Click Here To Read/Download Order

Income Tax | Delay in Filing Form 10-B Due To COVID Cannot Deny S.11 Exemption: Andhra Pradesh High Court

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