Sacred Heart Church Vs CIT (Exemptions) (ITAT Cochin)
Cochin ITAT Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal dealt with seven appeals filed by various church institutions & a religious organisation challenging CIT(E)’s orders refusing registration u/s 12A.
CIT(E) had rejected the assessees’ applications for 12A registration primarily on two grounds:
- The original instrument or deed evidencing the creation of the trust was not produced.
- The trust deeds were not registered under the Trusts Act, Societies Registration Act or with the Registrar of Documents, which, according to the CIT(E), was necessary for treating them as genuine institutions.
Assessees argued that the registered trust deed had, in fact, been produced before the CIT(E) & a copy was filed along with the application. There is no legal mandate under section 12A requiring the trust deed to be registered with the Registrar of Documents or any other authority for the purpose of Income-tax Act registration. Denial of 12A registration merely on the basis of non-registration under other laws is contrary to judicial precedents, including CIT v. Krishi Utpadan M& i Samiti (186 Taxman 460 – All HC) & Malli Ram Charitable Trust v. CIT (ITAT Amritsar). The Tribunal in earlier cases involving similarly situated church institutions had granted registration despite non-registration under other laws, & the same approach should be followed.
