Section 89A Relief & Form 10EE – ITAT Mumbai Ruling

Case Details: Jignesh Naresh Jariwala v. Deputy Director of Income-tax, CPC, Bengaluru - [2025] 178 taxmann.com 233 (Mumbai - Trib.) 

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• Anikesh Banerjee, Judicial Member
•  Narendra Kumar Billaiya, Accountant Member
• Ms Nidhi Jain & Milind Dattani for the Appellant
• Ms Kavitha P. Kaushik, SR DR for the Respondent

Facts of the Case

The assessee-individual was an employee at LTI Mindtree. He had a retirement benefit account maintained in a country that was notified. The assessee filed Form 10EE for the assessment year 2022-23 to exercise the option for the taxation of income accrued from such retirement benefit account in the assessment year in which income from said account is taxed at the time of withdrawal or redemption in the notified country.

For the relevant assessment year 2023-24, the assessee claimed relief under section 89A towards income accrued on the retirement benefit account. However, the Assessing Officer (AO) disallowed the claim on the ground that the assessee had not filed Form 10EE for the relevant assessment year. On appeal, the Commissioner (Appeals) upheld the action of the AO. The matter then reached the Mumbai Tribunal.

ITAT Held

The Tribunal held that it was an admitted position that Form No. 10EE had already been filed for A.Y. 2022-23. On a careful reading of Rule 21AAA, particularly sub-rules (1), (4) and (6), it was found that once Form No. 10EE has been filed in respect of a previous year, the option exercised therein continues to apply to all subsequent previous years.

Consequently, it is not mandatory for the assessee to file the form afresh for every assessment year. Where relief under section 89A has been granted on the basis of Form No. 10EE already furnished, the same relief cannot be denied merely because the form has not been filed again in subsequent years.

The filing of Form No. 10EE is a procedural requirement, and by virtue of Rule 21AAA(6), once exercised in any previous year, it remains in effect for all subsequent years. Therefore, the assessee is not obliged to furnish the form afresh every year, and denial of relief under section 89A on such procedural grounds is not sustainable in law.