Lodha Park Jain Sangh Vs ITO (ITAT Mumbai)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Mumbai, considered an appeal against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions) [CIT(E)] rejecting the assessee’s application in Form No. 10AB for registration under Section 12AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The rejection was made under Section 12AB(1)(b)(ii) solely on the ground that the assessee had selected Section 12A(1)(ac)(ii) instead of Section 12A(1)(ac)(iii) while filing the electronic application.
The assessee had obtained provisional registration in Form No. 10AC dated 13.03.2025, valid from Assessment Year 2025-26 to Assessment Year 2027-28, and filed Form No. 10AB on 30.09.2025 seeking regular registration. The CIT(E) initially issued a notice dated 01.02.2026 requiring submission of documents prescribed under Rule 17A(2) of the Income-tax Rules, 1962. The assessee responded on 10.02.2026 and also filed supplementary submissions dated 14.02.2026 along with proof of expenditure.
Upon examining the application and the records, the CIT(E) observed that, as the assessee held provisional registration, the application ought to have been filed under Section 12A(1)(ac)(iii). Since the assessee had selected Section 12A(1)(ac)(ii), which according to the CIT(E) applied to institutions already holding regular registration, the application was held to be not maintainable and was rejected, while granting liberty to pursue remedies available under the statute.
