St. Ignatius Church Vs CIT (Exemptions) (ITAT Mumbai)
Summary: The assessee, St. Ignatius Church, a religious-cum-charitable institution registered as a public trust under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950 since 20/06/1955, filed Form No. 10AB on 02/09/2025 under section 12A(1)(ac)(ii) seeking renewal of its regular registration under section 12AB for Assessment Year 2026-27. The CIT(E), Mumbai rejected the application on the ground that the assessee had not furnished a formal trust deed/Memorandum of Association or a scheme settled by the Charity Commissioner or a competent Court, and held that the documents furnished did not constitute an instrument or document evidencing its creation or establishment.
Before the Tribunal, the assessee submitted that Rule 17A(2)(b) expressly recognises applicants created or established otherwise than under an instrument and permits them to furnish a document evidencing creation or establishment. It relied upon its application before the Charity Commissioner, the registration certificate issued after statutory enquiry and its longstanding income-tax registration, including Form No. 10AC dated 23/09/2021.
The Tribunal noted that Rule 17A(2)(a) applies where an applicant is established under an instrument, whereas Rule 17A(2)(b) specifically applies where it is established otherwise than under an instrument. Consequently, insisting upon a formal trust deed in every case would render the distinction between the two clauses otiose. The Tribunal found that the assessee’s statutory registration under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, original application before the Charity Commissioner, previous registration under the Income-tax Act, substituted-regime registration and other documents constituted relevant evidentiary material regarding its creation, establishment and continued existence.
