Paramount Education Charitable Trust Vs C.I.T. (ITAT Chandigarh)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Chandigarh Bench, has set aside an order by the Commissioner of Income Tax (CIT), Panchkula, directing the CIT to grant registration under Section 12AA of the Income Tax Act to Paramount Education Charitable Trust. The CIT had rejected the trust’s application primarily because it was not registered under the Haryana Registration & Regulation of Societies Registration Act, 2012, a contention the ITAT found to be erroneous and irrelevant to the provisions of Section 12AA.
The case, Paramount Education Charitable Trust Vs. C.I.T. (ITAT Chandigarh), involved an appeal filed by the assessee trust against the CIT’s rejection dated August 11, 2014. The trust, established on May 28, 2007, was duly registered with the Joint/Deputy Registrar, Naraingarh, as a trust. It had applied for registration under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act in the prescribed format.
During the assessment process, the CIT sought a report from the Assessing Officer (AO) to verify the genuineness of the trust’s activities. The AO’s report, dated July 18, 2014, detailed the aims and objects of the trust, which included establishing and maintaining educational institutions, managing Paramount Convent School, providing instruction in various academic, technical, and vocational fields, organizing educational events, offering formal and informal education, and inculcating national integration and respect for the Constitution among students.
