Trehan Seva Bharti Charitable Trust Vs CIT Exemption (ITAT Jaipur)
The assessee, Trehan Seva Bharti Charitable Trust, filed an application in Form No. 10AB dated 09.01.2024 seeking registration under Section 12AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The CIT(E), Jaipur rejected the application on two grounds: the trust was not registered under the Rajasthan Public Trust Act, 1959 (RPT Act) and the genuineness of its activities had not been established. The provisional registration earlier granted under Section 12A(1)(ac)(vi) was also cancelled.
Before the ITAT Jaipur, the assessee produced a copy of its application filed before the Devasthan Vibhag, Rajasthan dated 25.05.2024. The Tribunal examined Section 12AB(1)(b)(ii)(B), which requires compliance with requirements of any other law only where such compliance is material for achieving the trust’s objects.
The Tribunal considered the judicial precedents relied upon by the CIT(E), including Aurora Educational Society vs. CCIT and New Noble Educational Society vs. CCIT. It observed that those decisions concerned educational institutions governed by specific regulatory laws and did not match the character of the assessee trust.
The Tribunal held that there was no provision in the RPT Act, 1959 prohibiting a trust from carrying out its objects merely because it was not registered under that Act. Section 17 of the RPT Act required trustees to apply for registration, but the absence of such registration could not, in the Tribunal’s view, constitute a hurdle to obtaining registration under Section 12AB.
