Friends Charitable Trust Vs CITE (ITAT, Bangalore Bench)
Wrong Portal Code Cannot Bury a Genuine Charity: ITAT Revives Trust’s Section 12AB Registration Claim
Summary: In M Friends Charitable Trust v. CIT(E), ITA No. 702/Bang/2026, decided on 28 August 2026, the Bangalore Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal considered whether an application for permanent registration u/s 12AB could be rejected merely because the charitable trust selected an incorrect section code while filing Form No. 10AB. The Tribunal held that a technical error in selecting the code could not, by itself, defeat the trust’s substantive claim, particularly when no opportunity was granted to rectify the mistake. The matter was accordingly restored to the CIT(E) for fresh adjudication.
The assessee was a charitable trust constituted through a trust deed dated 20 September 2019. Its principal objects included providing medical aid to needy persons irrespective of caste, creed or religion, assisting families affected by accidental or contingent deaths, conducting free medical camps & undertaking other activities for relief of the poor, education & medical relief.
Pursuant to an application dated 9 March 2020, the trust was granted provisional registration under section 12AA with effect from 1 March 2021. At that stage, the authority accepted that the trust’s activities fell within the statutory definition of “charitable purpose”, thereby entitling it, subject to compliance with the law, to claim benefits u/s 11 & 12.
