St. John The Evangelist Church Vs CIT (ITAT Mumbai)
SECTION 12AB &; RULE 17A: A 71-YEAR-OLD CHURCH NEED NOT PRODUCE A BIRTH CERTIFICATE CALLED “TRUST DEED”
Renewal refused for want of a formal instrument
The assessee, St. John the Evangelist Church, was a public religious & charitable trust established in 1955 and registered under the erstwhile Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950, now known as the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950.
It applied in Form 10AB u/s 12A(1)(ac)(ii) for renewal of its regular registration u/s 12AB.
During the proceedings, the CIT(E) required the assessee to furnish a self-certified copy of the instrument creating or establishing the trust. Alternatively, it was asked to furnish a document evidencing its creation or establishment.
The CIT(E) also called for a copy of any scheme framed by the Charity Commissioner or a competent Court governing the institution’s management & administration.
No trust deed—but seven decades of statutory existence
The assessee explained that it had not been constituted under a separate trust deed or Memorandum of Association.
It nevertheless furnished its Schedule II application filed before the Charity Commissioner on 03.01.1955, the public-trust registration certificate dated 20.06.1955, its earlier registration u/s 12A dated 29.10.1976 & the registration granted under the substituted regime in Form 10AC dated 31.05.2021.
