Ruah Community Foundation Vs CIT (Exemptions) (ITAT Mumbai)
Wrong Clause in Form 10AB Is a Curable Technical Defect — ITAT Restores 12AB Registration
The Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal allowed the appeal of the assessee-trust and held that mere selection of an incorrect clause while filing Form 10AB cannot be a ground to reject registration under section 12AB.
In this case, the assessee had been granted provisional registration under section 12AB and subsequently applied for final registration. However, the CIT(E) rejected the application solely on the ground that the assessee applied under section 12A(1)(ac)(ii) instead of the correct clause section 12A(1)(ac)(iii) applicable to regularisation of provisional registration. The CIT(E) took the view that there was no provision in the Act permitting correction of the clause once the application was filed.
The Tribunal held that:
- The defect was purely technical in nature.
- All relevant documents, facts, and particulars required for granting final registration were already on record.
- Substantive rights of a charitable trust cannot be defeated by a procedural or clerical lapse in mentioning the applicable clause.
Accordingly, the ITAT directed the CIT(E) to treat the existing Form 10AB as filed under the correct clause, i.e., section 12A(1)(ac)(iii), and to decide the application afresh on merits after granting due opportunity of hearing.
The appeal was allowed for statistical purposes, reaffirming that technical errors in e-filing should not override substantive charitable registration rights.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT MUMBAI
