Shree Kadava Patel Gau Seva Samaj Jamvali Vs CIT (Exemption) (ITAT Ahmedabad)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Ahmedabad Bench, has set aside orders from the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) [CIT(E)], Ahmedabad, which had rejected applications from Shree Kadava Patel Gau Seva Samaj Jamvali, a public charitable trust. The CIT(E) had dismissed the trust’s applications for crucial tax registrations and approvals solely on procedural grounds, without assessing their substantive merits. The ITAT’s decision, pronounced on June 25, 2025, directs the CIT(E) to reconsider these applications, underscoring principles of fairness and acknowledging the rectificatory nature of the trust’s subsequent filings.
Trust’s Background and Application Process
Shree Kadava Patel Gau Seva Samaj Jamvali, a public charitable trust, formally registered with the Charity Commissioner, Gujarat, on December 4, 2018. In line with its charitable objectives, the trust had previously secured provisional registration under Section 12A(1)(ac)(vi) and provisional approval under Section 80G(5)(iv) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. These provisional grants, effective from Assessment Year (A.Y.) 2022-23 to A.Y. 2024-25, were issued via Form 10AC dated April 7, 2022.
As the provisional period neared its end, the trust initiated the process for renewal. On March 21, 2024, it submitted online applications in Form 10AB for registration under Section 12AB and for 80G approval. However, a significant procedural error occurred: these initial applications were inadvertently filed under incorrect clauses, specifically for “re-approval” instead of the appropriate “renewal” categories mandated by the statute.
