Mahavir Yuva Sarva Vs CIT (Exemption) (ITAT Indore)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Indore Bench has set aside an order by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) [CIT(E)], Bhopal, and remanded the case of Mahavir Yuva Sarva Trust for a fresh examination of its application for permanent registration under Section 12AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The CIT(E) had previously rejected the trust’s application primarily due to the non-furnishing of PAN details and addresses for numerous small-amount donors.
Mahavir Yuva Sarva, a society registered under the Societies Act, 1860, had initially been granted provisional registration by the Central Processing Centre (CPC) for Assessment Years 2022-23 to 2024-25. This provisional registration came with specific terms and conditions. The society subsequently applied for permanent registration under Section 12AB by filing Form 10AB.
The society claims to be engaged in various charitable activities, including tree plantation, free medical treatment, blood donation camps, initiatives against plastic bags, generating employment for women (including distributing stitching machines), maintenance of water huts, and providing walkers and wheelchairs for the handicapped.
During the process of seeking permanent registration, the CIT(E) issued a notice on May 16, 2024, requisitioning several documents under Section 12A(1)(ac)(iii) of the Act. Specifically, the CIT(E) sought detailed information on donations/grants received over the preceding three years, including the name of the donor, address, PAN, mobile number, date of donation, whether it was a CSR donation, corpus/non-corpus classification, and if Form 10BE was issued.
