Roger Foundation Vs CIT (Exemption) (ITAT Agra)
When Bureaucracy Ignores Charity Worships Form—ITAT Restores Common Sense; Don’t Reject Charitable Registration for Technical Errors: ITAT Agra Rules Wrong Form Clause Can Be Rectified; Natural Justice Violated: ITAT Agra Orders Re-Hearing After Registration Refused Without Opportunity; Substantive Justice Over Form: ITAT Agra Overrules Rejection of 12AB Registration for Wrong Sub-Clause Filing; The ITAT Agra bench emphasized that procedural mistakes, like filing Form 10AB under the incorrect clause, cannot defeat the aim of substantive justice. The ruling mandates the CIT(E) to correct the technical error or allow the trust to rectify it, followed by a fresh examination of the charitable activities. Citing the Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Trust case, the Tribunal ruled that the CIT(E) must not reject a 12AB registration application due to the wrong sub-clause selection. The CIT(E) was instructed to treat the application under the correct 12A(1)(ac)(i) provision and decide the registration based on the trust’s objects and activities.
Assessee Trust , an educational & charitable society, filed an application on 28.09.2024 in Form 10AB seeking regular registration u/s 12AB. CIT(Exemption) rejected the application on 26.03.2025 on the sole ground that Assessee did not have a provisional registration u/s 12A, & that the application was wrongly filed under clause 12A(1)(ac)(iii) instead of 12A(1)(ac)(i). According to CIT(E), only those trusts having provisional registration for three years could apply under clause (iii), whereas this assessee did not have provisional registration, hence the application was “non-maintainable”. No adverse observation was made about the genuineness of objects, activities or compliance, & the order was passed purely on technical grounds without granting proper opportunity of hearing.
