Sunanda Birla Foundation Vs CIT (ITAT Mumbai)
A Trust Deed Mentions Foreign Collaboration. Does That Cost the Trust Its Registration?
Sunanda Birla Foundation’s trust deed permitted international academic and educational collaboration. It had also incurred little expenditure on charitable activities during the period examined. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions) treated these circumstances as grounds to reject its application for registration under section 12AB and its related application for approval under section 80G.
The Mumbai Tribunal held that limited charitable expenditure does not, by itself, establish that a trust’s activities are not genuine. Nor does a clause permitting foreign collaboration prove that trust income has actually been applied outside India. It set aside both rejection orders and directed the Commissioner to grant section 12AB registration, subject to the other statutory requirements, and to consider and grant section 80G approval in accordance with law.
The Foundation’s Applications
Sunanda Birla Foundation was constituted as a charitable trust in 2007. Its objects included education, healthcare, and the promotion of Vedic philosophy and spiritual sciences. It had previously received registration under section 12A and approval under section 80G, both valid from AY 2022–23 to AY 2026–27.
On 27 June 2025, the Foundation filed Form 10AB seeking registration under section 12AB. It filed its application for approval under section 80G(5) on 13 August 2025. During examination of those applications, the Commissioner raised two concerns.
