Mumbai Marathi Granthasangrahalaya Vs CIT (Exemptions) (ITAT Mumbai)
Registration Granted, Benefits Kept Waiting? ITAT Deletes the SLP Condition
Background: Renewal Granted With a Qualification
The assessee, Mumbai Marathi Granthasangrahalaya, is a charitable institution which applied for renewal of its registration under Section 12AB.
By an order dated 28 March 2026, the Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemptions) granted registration. However, the grant carried a condition that its applicability and subsequent tax benefits would remain subject to the outcome of a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court’s judgment in Chamber of Tax Consultants v. CIT (Exemptions) [2026] 184 taxmann.com 374.
The institution challenged this qualification before the Tribunal.
The application had not been rejected. The grievance concerned the condition attached to a registration which had already been granted after consideration of the application and supporting material.
The Assessee Questioned the Authority to Impose the Condition
The assessee argued that Section 12AB does not empower the CIT(E) to make registration dependent on a future contingency.
Its submission was that the statutory inquiry concerns the institution’s objects, genuineness of activities and relevant compliance with other laws governing achievement of those objects.
Once the authority was satisfied and granted registration, it could not introduce an additional restriction tying the registration’s effectiveness to the outcome of separate litigation.
