Patidar Samaj Trust Khajurdi Vs CIT (Exemption) (ITAT Ahmedabad)
Ahmedabad: The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Ahmedabad bench, has overturned an order by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) that rejected the application for 12A registration of Patidar Samaj Trust, Khajurdi. The CIT (Exemption) had concluded that the trust’s objects were confined to the members of the Patidar Samaj caste, thus attracting the provisions of Section 13(1)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which denies exemption benefits to trusts applying income for the benefit of a particular religious community or caste. The ITAT, however, found that the trust’s objects included clauses benefiting the general public irrespective of caste or creed and remitted the matter back to the CIT (Exemption) for a fresh decision after considering relevant judicial pronouncements.
The Patidar Samaj Trust, Khajurdi, had applied for registration under Section 12AB of the Act, a prerequisite for claiming income tax exemption as a charitable institution. The trust had initially received provisional approval in October 2021 and subsequently filed an application in Form 10AB for final registration. As part of the verification process for final registration, the CIT (Exemption) sought details and documents from the trust through notices issued in November and December 2023. The trust provided responses and submitted documents in December 2023 and January 2024. Following this, a show-cause notice was issued in March 2024, to which the assessee submitted a reply.
