Adi Balbhim Vyayam Shala Vs CIT (ITAT Pune)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Pune Bench, has partly allowed an appeal filed by Adi Balbhim Vyayam Shala, a trust, challenging the denial of its application for approval under Section 80G(5) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The dispute centered on the interpretation of the prescribed time limit for filing the application for regular 80G approval.
The appellant trust, registered under Section 12A of the Act, had initially received provisional approval on October 1, 2021, valid until Assessment Year 2024-25. Subsequently, the trust submitted its application in Form No. 10AB for regular approval on September 25, 2023. This application was rejected by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions), Pune, on March 11, 2024. The rejection was based on the premise that the application was not filed within the stipulated time frame.
According to the Commissioner, the trust was required to file the Form 10AB application for regular approval within six months from the date of provisional approval, specifically by April 30, 2022, or by September 30, 2022, as extended by CBDT Circular No. 08/2022. Given that the trust’s activities commenced on December 30, 1968, long before the provisional approval, the Commissioner concluded that the application filed on September 25, 2023, was significantly delayed.
