Shree Ghughari Dasha Disawal Sahaj Trust Vs CIT (Exemption) (ITAT Mumbai)
Mumbai ITAT: U/s 12AB Registration Cannot Be Denied Merely Because Original U/s 12A Certificate Issued Decades Ago Is Not Available
The Mumbai ITAT held that renewal/continuation of registration under section 12AB cannot be rejected solely because the trust is unable to produce the original section 12A registration certificate issued nearly three decades ago. The Tribunal noted that the trust had consistently asserted that it was granted registration under section 12A on 19.09.1996, which had never been cancelled or withdrawn, and that it had been regularly assessed as a charitable institution with exemption under section 11 being allowed over the years. Significantly, the Department itself had granted the trust registration under section 12AB in Form No. 10AC on 24.09.2021, which necessarily presupposed the existence of a valid earlier registration. The Tribunal held that the inability to produce the physical certificate was only a procedural deficiency and could not negate the existence of the original registration.
The Tribunal further observed that before rejecting the application, the CIT(E) ought to have verified the departmental registration records, historical assessment records and other internal records, especially when the assessee had requested issuance of a duplicate certificate. The assumption that the absence of the physical certificate meant the absence of registration was held to be unsustainable. Since the CIT(E) had not examined the trust’s charitable objects, genuineness of activities or compliance with the conditions of section 12AB, the Tribunal set aside the rejection order and restored the matter to the CIT(E) for fresh adjudication after verifying the departmental records and granting the assessee a proper opportunity of hearing. The appeal was allowed for statistical purposes.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT MUMBAI
This appeal has been filed by the assessee trust against the order dated 22.02.2026 passed by the learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions), Mumbai, whereby the application filed by the assessee in Form No.10AB seeking renewal/continuation of registration under section 12AB of the Income Tax Act has been rejected.
