Parul University Alumni Association Vs CIT (ITAT Ahmedabad)
The case of Parul University Alumni Association vs. CIT (ITAT Ahmedabad) revolves around the rejection of the appellant’s application for registration under Section 12A(1)(ac)(iii) of the Income Tax Act by the Ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions) (CIT(E)).
The appellant, a charitable trust registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act, applied for registration under Section 12AB of the Income Tax Act. Although it received provisional registration, its application for regular registration was rejected by the CIT (Exemptions) on two grounds. Firstly, there was a discrepancy in the name between the registration certificate issued by the Assistant Charity Commissioner Vadodara and the PAN database. Secondly, the CIT (Exemptions) argued that the trust’s objectives primarily served the interests of the members of Parul University, rather than the public at large.
The appellant appealed against this decision, citing the consistency of its legal entity despite the name difference and arguing that its objectives did indeed serve the public interest. The Tribunal found merit in both arguments and directed the CIT (Exemptions) to re-examine the case.
Regarding the name mismatch, the Tribunal accepted the appellant’s explanation that the discrepancy arose from translating the organization’s name from Gujarati to English, affirming that there was no change in the legal entity. Consequently, the Tribunal deemed it inappropriate to reject the application solely on this ground.
