2022 (12) TMI 1448 - AT - Income Tax

Deduction u/s 80P - claim denied as assessee not filed it s return within the due date u/s 139(1) - HELD THAT - We make it clear that the assessee has indeed quoted Section 80AC(ii) of the Act that although it has been prescribed in the relevant statute to claim the impugned deduction only after filing Section 139(1) return before the due date this tribunal s recent coordinate bench in the case of M/s. Krushi Vibhag Karmchari Vrund Sahakari Path Sanstha 2022 (10) TMI 348 - ITAT NAGPUR has held the foregoing condition(s) as directory and not a mandatory one. We find no merit in assessee s foregoing arguments claiming Section 80AC(ii) as a mere directory provision in the light of Commissioner vs. Dilip Kumar Company 2018 (7) TMI 1826 - SUPREME COURT that provisions in a taxing statute (including deductions) have to be strictly interpreted only. We next observe that the legislature has interpreted no such deduction and unless in Section 80AC(ii); for the period after 01.04.2018 by way of negative covenants which forms a mandatory stipulation only in light of PRINCIPLES OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION by Justice G.P. Singh (termed as the treatise on the subject of statutory constructions) under Chapter 5 thereof. So far as the assessee s reliance on this tribunal s learned coordinate bench s decision (supra) is concerned the same hardly forms a binding precedent once dealing with assessment year 2009-10 only i.e. before 01.04.2018. We thus uphold the learned lower authorities action under challenge therefore denying sec.80P deduction in issue.

Summary

Issues:
1. Claim of Section 80P deduction based on filing return within due date under Section 139(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Analysis:
The judgment revolves around the appeal of the assessee for the assessment year 2018-19 against the order of the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) Delhi. The primary issue pertains to the denial of the assessee's Section 80P deduction claim of Rs.14,54,103/- by the lower authorities due to the failure to file the return within the due date under Section 139(1) of the Act.

The assessee vehemently argued that the lower authorities erred in law and on facts in rejecting the deduction claim. However, the tribunal found no merit in the assessee's stand. The tribunal referred to Section 80AC(ii) of the Act, which prescribes claiming deductions only after filing the return before the due date. Despite the assessee's reliance on a previous tribunal decision, the tribunal held that the condition is mandatory, not directory, citing the case of Commissioner vs. Dilip Kumar & Company (2018) 9 SCC 1 (SC)(FB) emphasizing strict interpretation of provisions in a taxing statute.

Moreover, the tribunal highlighted the negative covenants in Section 80AC(ii) interpreted by the legislature post-01.04.2018, making it a mandatory stipulation. The tribunal also noted that the previous tribunal decision cited by the assessee was not a binding precedent for the assessment year 2009-10 and upheld the lower authorities' action in denying the Section 80P deduction.

In conclusion, the tribunal dismissed the assessee's appeal, affirming the denial of the Section 80P deduction based on the failure to file the return within the due date as required by Section 139(1) of the Act. The judgment was dictated and pronounced on 19th December 2022 by the tribunal.