TMI Blog2015 (1) TMI 395X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . C. (A). No. 730 of 2014 - - - Dated:- 22-12-2014 - R. Sudhakar And R. Karuppiah,JJ. For the Appellant : Mr. T. R. Senthil Kumar Standing Counsel For the Respondent : Mr. T. N. Seetharaman ORDER (Delivered by R. Sudhakar, J.) The Revenue has filed this appeal challenging the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal 'C' Bench, Chennai, dated 9.9.2010 made in I.T.A.No.1019/Mds/2010 for the assessment year 2005-2006 and the same was admitted on the following question of law: Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case the Tribunal was right in allowing the deduction especially when the assessee has not filed audit report in Form 10CCB along with the return nor before the date of completion o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing of audit report along with the return, as contemplated under Section 32AB(5) of the Income Tax Act, is only directory and not mandatory. The relevant portion of the said decision reads as under: With regard to the interpretation of section 32AB as well as corresponding section 80J(6A) of the Act, it is a trite law that: (i) since there is no stipulation as to the time when the audit report should be filed, except that it should be filed along with the return, all that the assessee is required to do is to delay the filing of the return until the audit report is made available. The ground relied on that the preparation of the audit report was beyond the control of the assessee and hence, the assessee could justifiably delay in fili ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... reated as mandatory and the assessee cannot be deprived of the benefit of deduction if the same is filed before the finalisation of the assessment. It is, therefore, specifically held that sub-section (5) of section 32AB is not mandatory and the Assessing Officer has discretion to entertain the audit report, even though it has not been filed with the return and give benefit of the deduction to the assessee in terms of section 32AB(1). The Full Bench, while so holding that the filing of the audit report is not mandatory, has observed that the question as to whether a statute is mandatory or directory depends upon the intent of the Legislature and not upon the language in which the intent is clothed. The meaning and intention of the Legislatu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . A. N. Arunachalam [1994] 208 ITR 481, held that the requirement that the audit report should be filed along with the return is not mandatory and the audit report could be filed even after submission of the return, but before framing of the assessment and the same could be construed as a sufficient compliance with the condition contemplated under section 80J(6A); (v) again, in a recent decision of this court in CIT v. Jayant Patel [2001] 248 ITR 199, while interpreting the corresponding section, viz. 80J, which also requires the audit report to be filed along with the return, held that the requirement that the audit report should be furnished along with the return is only directory and not mandatory. In view of the well-settled princ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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