Section 80G Approval Cannot Be Denied Merely Because Trust Has Fee Receipts or Surplus – ITAT Directs CIT(E) to Grant Approval

Kurunji Education Trust Vs CIT (Exemptions) (ITAT Bangalore) The assessee educational trust applied for permanent approval u/s 80G(5) after already having registration u/s 12AB and provisional 80G approval. The CIT(Exemptions) rejected the application mainly on the grounds that the trust had substantial surplus, that private institutions are funded through fee collections, and that fee receipts are not donations and hence not eligible for 80G benefit. The ITAT held that the CIT(E) misdirected himself by examining the issue from the perspective of donors claiming deduction u/s 80G(1)/(2) instea...