Pujya Sindhi Panchayat Trust Vs ITO (ITAT Mumbai)
The ITAT Mumbai considered an assessee’s appeal against the order dated 28.10.2025 passed under Section 250 for A.Y. 2019-20. The Assessing Officer, in the assessment order under Section 143(3) read with Section 144B, had made an addition of Rs.4,28,647 by disallowing the deduction claimed under Section 57, mainly because the assessee’s application for registration under Section 12A had earlier been rejected.
During the appellate proceedings, the assessee obtained registration under Section 12A by order dated 06.2023, effective from the date of its original application dated 30.09.2020 and applicable from A.Y. 2020-21 onwards. The Commissioner dismissed the appeal on the ground that registration was not expressly available for A.Y. 2019-20.
The Tribunal considered whether subsequently granted Section 12A registration during pendency of the appeal could benefit the earlier assessment year. It relied on Income Tax Officer v. United Education Society, ITA No.9303/Mum/2025, order dated 15.07.2026, where the Tribunal held that Sections 11 and 12 could benefit an earlier assessment year where assessment proceedings were pending before the Assessing Officer on the date of registration and the assessee’s objects and activities remained unchanged.
The Tribunal also considered Krishnabai Ghat Trust v. ITO (Exemptions), ITA No.44/PUN/2019, which dealt with registration under Section 12A granted during pendency of an appeal. That decision relied on CIT (Exemptions) v. Shri Ram Mandir Committee [(2018) 400 ITR 466 (Raj.)].
