Indian Institute of Fire Engineering Vs ITO (ITAT Nagpur)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Nagpur Bench, has set aside an order by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) [CIT(E)], Pune, that rejected an application for regular registration under Section 12AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The CIT(E) had dismissed the application primarily because the assessee, Indian Institute of Fire Engineering, failed to submit a copy of its provisional registration order under Section 12AB. The ITAT found this reasoning to be “hollow and baseless,” directing the CIT(E) to reconsider the application.
The assessee had applied in Form 10AB under Section 12A(1)(ac)(iii) for regular registration. The CIT(E) rejected the application, observing that the assessee seemed not to have been registered under Section 12A/12AA prior to April 1, 2021, as no such copy was submitted. Crucially, the CIT(E) concluded that the non-submission of the provisional registration copy under Section 12AB established that a “prerequisite” for the application was not fulfilled, as required by Rule 17A(2)(e) of the Income Tax Rules, 1962.
However, the ITAT, upon reviewing the records, found that the assessee trust was registered under Section 12A of the Act since the financial year 2017-18. Furthermore, it had obtained provisional registration on May 28, 2021, valid from Assessment Year 2022-23 to 2026-27. The Tribunal explicitly stated that the CIT(E)’s conclusions were “in complete divergence to the fact on record,” indicating a failure to refer to office records.
