ITAT Kolkata Remands Trust Registration Issue Over Wrong Section 12A Clause

Jai Brahmani Mata Sewa Trust Vs CIT (ITAT Kolkata)

Wrong Clause Is Curable; Existing Registration Cannot Be Declared “Void Ab Initio” in Renewal Proceedings

The Kolkata Bench of the ITAT has held that a charitable trust’s registration cannot be declared “void ab initio” in collateral proceedings concerning conversion or renewal merely because the trust inadvertently applied under an incorrect clause of section 12A(1)(ac). Where the initial registration was still subsisting, the CIT(E) was required to follow the statutory procedure prescribed for cancellation. A technical error in selecting the applicable clause could, at the most, justify modification of the registration from the correct assessment year and not its summary annulment.

Jai Brahmani Mata Sewa Trust was a religious-cum-charitable trust registered with the Additional District Sub-Registrar, Siliguri, on 11-07-2023. It subsequently filed Form No. 10A on 07-09-2023 seeking registration under the Income-tax Act.

The trust applied u/s 12A(1)(ac)(i), a provision intended for trusts or institutions which were already registered u/s 12A or 12AA before the commencement of the new registration regime on 01-04-2021. Acting upon the application, the prescribed authority granted registration in Form No. 10AC on 14-09-2023 for AYs 2022-23 to 2026-27.

Thereafter, on 25-09-2025, the trust filed Form No. 10AB seeking conversion or renewal of the registration u/s 12A(1)(ac)(ii). During the proceedings, the CIT(E) issued notices calling for information to examine the genuineness of the activities and compliance with the trust’s objects.