Shyam Mitra Vs CIT (Exemption) (ITAT Nagpur)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Nagpur, allowed the appeal of a charitable institution against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption), Pune, rejecting its application for registration under Section 12AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Commissioner had rejected the application on the ground that the assessee had filed Form 10AB by selecting Section 12A(1)(ac)(ii) instead of the applicable Section 12A(1)(ac)(vi)(B), treating the application as non-maintainable.
The assessee submitted that it was incorporated on 31.03.1983, registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950, and had been carrying out charitable activities since its inception. It had never been granted registration under Sections 12A or 12AA earlier. According to the assessee, the incorrect selection of the section code in Form 10AB was an inadvertent and bona fide clerical error committed while filing the online application. The institution stated that it otherwise satisfied all the conditions for registration and had responded to all notices issued by the Commissioner by furnishing the required documents and explanations.
The Tribunal noted that the application filed on 06.03.2025 was accompanied by the trust registration certificate, financial statements for Assessment Years 2022-23 to 2024-25, and the trust deed setting out the charitable objects. These documents clearly indicated that the trust had already commenced charitable activities and that the appropriate provision for seeking registration was Section 12A(1)(ac)(vi)(B). The Tribunal observed that the documentary evidence itself showed that only the section code had been incorrectly selected in the online application.
