TMI Blog2023 (7) TMI 562X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... allowing the claim of the assessee on the ground that benefit of section 80-IA of the Act is not available to the assessee if the assessee does not e-file Form 10CCB along with return of income when the assessee admittedly furnished From 10CCB, prior the return of income filed by the assessee being processed by the Department u/s. 143(1) - Decided in favour of assessee. - ITA No. 430/Ahd/2022 - - - Dated:- 12-7-2023 - Shri Waseem Ahmed, Accountant Member And Shri Siddhartha Nautiyal, Judicial Member For the Assessee : Shri Parin Shah, A.R. For the Revenue : Shri Atul Pandey, Sr. D.R. ORDER PER : SIDDHARTHA NAUTIYAL, JUDICIAL MEMBER:- This is an appeal filed by the assessee against the order of National Faceless Appeal Centre, (NFAC), Delhi, in proceeding u/s. 250 vide order dated 26/09/2022 passed for the assessment year 2017-18. 2. The assessee has taken the following grounds of appeal:- Grounds of appeal Tax effect relating to each Ground of appeal 1 The order passed by NFAC is bad in law and required to be quashed. N.A. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed time is a mandatory requirement, and since the assessee failed to file Form 10CCB within the due prescribed date along with return of income, the Assessing Officer rightly disallowed the deduction claimed u/s. 80-IA of the Act . While dismissing the appeal of the assessee, the ld. CIT(A) observed as under:- 4.4. The issue was considered. Respective rectification orders, statement of fact and written submission of the appellant and related provisions on the subject matter and case laws relied upon have been carefully perused. It is apparent from the rectification order dated 09.02.2022 that the appellant filed his return on 17.10.2017 u/s 139(1) of the Act well within the extended due date 07.11.2017. But, Form 10CCB for claiming deduction u/s 80-IA was filed on 11.10.2018 i.e. after the due date. Hence, the filing of Form 10CCB/audit report after due date is the main reason for disallowance of the deductions claimed u/s 80IA of the Act. From perusal of the written submission of the appellant, it was found that the appellant has taken the plea of Rule 12(2) of Income Tax Rules, 1962 and some case laws, already referred in the written submission of the appellant, and claimed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (Form 10CCB) along with the return of income is mandatory, which was not fulfilled by the appellant as the required Form 10CCB was filed after the due date. Moreover, the other case laws of the ITAT, Kolkata in the case of DCIT vs Tide Water Oil Co. (I) Ltd, ITA No. 20151/Kol/10 dated 20.01.2012, the ITAT, Ahmedabad in the case of Eagle Synthetics (P.) Ltd vs ITO [2011] and zest Aromas (P) Ltd. Vs CIT-II and Karnataka High Court in the case of CIT vs ACE Multitaxes Systems (P) LTD (2009) 317 ITR 207 (Karnataka) relied are related to the issues of 80IB of the Act, hence, were found not tenable. In addition to the same the appellant relied upon the decision of Delhi High Court in the case of CIT vs Contimeteres Electricals (P) LTD (2009) 317 ITR 249 (Delhi) wherein the Delhi High Court by following the judgments of the Madras High Court in CIT vs Arunachalam (A.N.) (1994) 208 ITR 481 and in CIT vs Jayant Patel (2001) 248 ITR 199 (Mad) held that the filing of audit report along with the return was not mandatory but directory. The relied these case laws were studied and found that the Delhi High Court drew this inference in view of section 80IA(7) of the Act in concurrence to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in the case of DCIT vs. Croygas Equipments Pvt. Ltd. in ITA No. 415/Ahd/2020 dated 16-06- 2023 have dealt aspect of whether benefit u/s. 10AA of the Act could be denied to the assessee if the assessee failed to fill Form 56F along with return of income, which however was subsequently filed by the assessee before the Assessing Officer, before the conclusion of assessment. Further, in this case, the ITAT Ahmedabad also distinguished the decision of Wipro Ltd. supra , which was rendered by the Hon ble Supreme Court on a different set of facts. The relevant extracts of the ruling are reproduced below for reference:- 6.1 In our view, it is a well accepted principle of law that beneficial provisions should be given a liberal construction and once the assessee has satisfied the conditions laid down for claiming deduction/exemption under the relevant beneficial provision, the same should not be denied. We are of the view that exemption benefits u/s 10AA cannot be denied to the assessee on account of a procedural lapse committed by the Chartered Accountant of the assessee. We must always keep the object of the Act in view while interpreting the section. The legislative intention mus ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n 54F is a beneficial provision and is applicable to an assessee when the old capital asset is replaced by a new capital asset in the form of a residential house. Once an assessee falls within the ambit of a beneficial provision, then the said provision should be liberally interpreted. In the case of State of Gujarat v. S.A. Himnani Distributors (P.) Ltd. [2014] 43 taxmann.com 358 (Gujarat) , the Gujarat High Court held that when State is inclined to give some tax benefit to tax payers, terms or provisions of policy should be interpreted in a liberal manner and with an intention to see that purpose for which policy is framed is fulfilled and beneficiaries is helped and the interpretation must not be such which would frustrate objective of policy. Section 10AA of the Act is a beneficial provision aimed at encouraging exports of goods and services by setting up of industrial units in special economic zones. In our view, benefit of section 10AA should not be denied on account of a procedural/technical default by the assessee or his chartered accountant, if otherwise the assessee is eligible to claim deduction under the said exemption provision. 6.3 Another notable issue for cons ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... essee claimed benefit under section 10B(8) by furnishing declaration in revised return much after due date prescribed under section 139(1), same was to be denied as requirement of furnishing declaration before AO before due date of filing original return under section 139(1) was a mandatory condition not directory. However, notably, there is no such equivalent/similar provision in section 10AA of the Act, which gives an option to the assessee to file a declaration before the due date of return of income under section 139(1) of the Act, to the effect that the provisions of this section may not be made applicable to him, for the impugned assessment year. Therefore, going by the strict language of section, the relevant statutory provisions on which the decision of Wipro was based, were on a different footing. Further, the issue for consideration in the Wipro case is also distinguishable, since in the assessee s case, it had claimed benefit of deduction u/s. 10AA in the original return of income (and only Form 56F was omitted to be e-filed along-with return of income), whereas the issue for consideration in Wipro case supra was that once the assessee had claimed benefit of section 10B ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e ratio laid down in the Wipro Ltd case would not disentitle assessee to claim benefit of section 10AA of the Act, since it has been rendered on a different set of facts. Therefore in our considered view, once such claim has been made in the original return of income and assessee has also furnished Form 56F during the course of assessment proceedings itself, before the assessment was finalized. The assessee should not be denied the benefit of s. 10AA of the Act. It is a well settled principle of law that if there is any ambiguity regarding interpretation of a Statutory provision, an interpretation favourable to the assessee may be taken, especially when we are dealing with Statutory provisions aimed at giving some incentive to the assessee. 7.1 Accordingly, in the light of the above discussion, in our considered view, ld. CIT(A) has erred in facts and in law in not allowing the claim of the assessee on the ground that benefit of section 80-IA of the Act is not available to the assessee if the assessee does not e-file Form 10CCB along with return of income when the assessee admittedly furnished From 10CCB, prior the return of income filed by the assessee being processed by the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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