Vinayaka Education Trust Vs ITO (ITAT Ahmedabad)
12A Still Alive: Technical Mismatch Cannot Kill Substantive Exemption +ITAT Restores Exemption After CPC’s Technical Denial
Assessee, a charitable trust registered u/s 12A since 05.01.2011, filed ITR-7 on 31.12.2021 claiming exemption u/s 11 after applying income of Rs.3,67,53,006 & claiming accumulation of Rs.59,97,501. CPC, while processing return u/s 143(1), denied exemption on the sole ground that the new registration details u/s 12AB / 10(23C) were not filled in the ITR, holding that from 01.06.2020 fresh registration was mandatory. Entire receipts of Rs.3,99,83,342 were taxed & demand of Rs.1.87 crore was raised. Rectification u/s 154 was also rejected. CIT(A)-NFAC upheld CPC’s view stating Form 10AC dated 13.01.2022 granted registration only from AY 2022-23 & not for AY 2021-22.
Tribunal noted that CBDT had extended the due date for filing Form 10A repeatedly up to 30.09.2023 (Circulars 12/2021, 16/2021, 22/2022, 6/2023). Assessee filed Form 10A on 06.01.2022 well within extended due date & received re-registration on 13.01.2022. Since return was filed earlier on 31.12.2021, non-mention of new registration in the ITR was only a technical mismatch. Tribunal held that original 12A registration continued to be valid during PY 2020-21 & proviso to s.12A(2) ensures continuity of exemption for any AY for which registration application is made & objects remain same. CPC could not have denied exemption u/s 143(1)(a) for a purely technical lapse. CIT(A)’s approach was held contrary to statutory scheme. Tribunal directed AO to allow exemption u/s 11 & delete disallowance of application & accumulation. Appeal allowed.
