ASHABE SUFFAH CHARITABLE TRUST,JAIPUR V. CIT(EXEMPTION)-JAIPUR, JAIPUR

ITA 1130/JPR/2024

AI Insights

The case involves the Ashabe Suffah Charitable Trust appealing against the decision of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption), Jaipur, which rejected their application for registration under section 12AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The rejection was based on the non-genuineness of the Trust's activities as the CIT(E) found discrepancies in the documents and explanations provided by the Trust. The Trust argued that they were not given adequate opportunity to address the issues raised by the CIT(E). The tribunal noted the procedural lapses and remanded the case back to the CIT(E) for a thorough re-examination, allowing the Trust another opportunity to present their case.

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 469923 (ITAT-JAIPUR)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 21-03-2025
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Partly Allowed
• Bench Allotted: B
• Assessment Year: 2024-2025
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Partly Allowed
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Department Lawyers: SHRIP.P. MEENA
• Assessee Lawyers: S.K. KABRA; THR. V.C
• Keywords: Opportunity of being heard; Additional evidence; Charitable institution
• Section: 12A

Judgement Text

"vk;dj vihyh; vf/kdj.k] t;iqj U;k;ihB] t;iqj IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, JAIPUR BENCHES,”B” JAIPUR Mk0 ,l- lhrky{eh]U;kf;d lnL; ,oa Jh jkBkSM+ deys'k t;UrHkkbZ] ys[kk lnL; ds le{k BEFORE: DR. S. SEETHALAKSHMI, JM & SHRI RATHOD KAMLESH JAYANTBHAI, AM vk;dj vihy la-@ITA No. 1130/JPR/2024 Ashabe Suffah Charitable Trust C-335, Shahid Indra Jyoti Nagar, Kachchi Pasti Shashtri Nagar, Jaipur. cuke Vs. The CIT(Exemption), Jaipur. LFkk;hys[kk la-@thvkbZvkj la-@PAN/GIR No.: AAKTA5048A vihykFkhZ@Appellant izR;FkhZ@Respondent fu/kZkfjrh dh vksjls@Assesseeby : Shri S.K. Kabra, C.A. (Thr. V.C.) jktLo dh vksjls@Revenue by: ShriP.P. Meena, CIT lquokbZ dh rkjh[k@Date of Hearing :25/02/2025 mn?kks\"k.kk dh rkjh[k@Date of Pronouncement: 21/03/2025 vkns'k@ORDER PER: DR. S. SEETHALAKSHMI, J.M. The present appeal is filed by the assessee challenge the order passed by the Learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption), Jaipur [herein after referred to as “CIT(E)”] dated 09.08.2024 thereby rejecting the registration under section 12AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961(in short “Act”). 2. The assessee has raised the following grounds of appeal:- “1. The Ld. CIT(E) was not just and proper on the facts of the case and in law in rejecting the application of the Trust for registration u/s 12A. 2 ITA No. 1130/JPR/2024 Ashabe Suffah Charitable Trust vs. CIT(E) 2. 1 The rejection order may be recalled and registration u/s 12A may be directed to be allowed to the appellant. 2.2 Personal hearing may be granted. 2.3 Any other relief that your honours may deem fit may be granted. 3. The appellant craves leave to add, amend, alter or delete any or all of the above grounds of appeals.” 3. Brief facts of the case are that the assessee filed online application in Form No. 10AB seeking registration u/s 12AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961 was filed on 17.02.2024. A letter/notice dated 23.04.2024 was issued at the e-mail/address provided in the application requiring the assessee- applicant to submit certain documents/explanations by 03.05.2024, in response reply filed by assessee-applicant. The reply was thoroughly examined and found some discrepancies. These discrepancies were conveyed to the assessee-applicant vide show cause letter dated 03.08.2024 wherein date of hearing was given 09.08.2024, in response reply filed by the assessee-applicant. Above reply filed by the assessee-applicant was thoroughly examined and not found tenable. Since it is limitation matter, therefore the case is decided on the basis of material available on record. While dealing with the application for registration the ld. CIT(E) has passed the order by observing as under:-  Non-Genuineness of activities. 3 ITA No. 1130/JPR/2024 Ashabe Suffah Charitable Trust vs. CIT(E) 4. Aggrieved from the above order of the Ld. CIT(E), the assessee has preferred an appeal before us. To support the grounds so raised the ld. AR of the assessee has service of a prayer for admission of additional evidence which reads as under:- “The Registration application of the Appellant Trust was rejected for certain recitals in the Trust deed. The appellant Trust had made a supplementary Trust deed so as to correct and modify the deed so as to conform to the requirement for registration. The said SUPPLEMENTARY DEED is prepared after the receipt of the Rejection Order. Therefore, there was no occasion to submit the said supplementary deed before the CIT (E). To get the approval of the Devsthan Department, the said supplementary deed is also filed with the Devsthan Dept. Considering the fact that the appellant was not aware of such legal defects and as soon as the TRUSTEES came to know about the same, the defects were removed by way of executing the Supplementary deed and also filing the same for the record of the DEVSTHAN VIBHAG at Jaipur it is humbly prayed and requested that the SUPPLEMENTARY DEED being a basic, germane and critical Document of the constitution of the TRUST and to decide the issue under hand, it may kindly be admitted as ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE.” 4.1 The ld. AR of the assessee also filed a detailed paper books in support of the contentions so raised. The index of the document submitted by the ld. AR of the assessee reads as under:- S# Particulars Page # 1. Copy of Trust deed 1-15 2. Copy of trust registration certificate issue by Devsthanam Dept. 16 3. Copy of supplementary trust deed 17-20 4. Copy of notice under section 23 of Rajasthan Public Trust Act, 1959, issued by Devsthanam Dept. 21-22 5. Affidavit for the purpose of sec 23 of the Rajasthan Public Trust Act 1959. 23-24 4 ITA No. 1130/JPR/2024 Ashabe Suffah Charitable Trust vs. CIT(E) 5. During the course of hearing, the ld. AR for the assessee prayed that the ld. CIT(E) has passed the order without providing adequate opportunity of being heard to the assessee. Therefore, the assessee may be provided one more opportunity to advance their arguments/submissions before the ld. CIT(E). considering the additional evidence so submitted. 6. Per contra, the ld. DR relied on the orders of the ld. CIT(E) and submitted that various opportunities were granted but the assessee has not filed details in time. 7. We have heard the rival contentions and perused material available on record. The Bench noted from the order of the ld. CIT(E) that he has rejected the application of the assessee pertaining to registration of the society u/s12AB of the Act on the ground of that assessee has not given the details of beneficiaries of activity as asked. No details of students to whom religious education was given in the account for the financial year 2023-24 was not given. It is also pertinent to mention that during the course of hearing the ld. AR of the assessee prayed that he was deprived off availing adequate opportunity of being heard by the ld. CIT(E) in the application for registration/recognition. We note from the records available and show cause notice were issued by the ld. CIT(E) wherein the assessee 5 ITA No. 1130/JPR/2024 Ashabe Suffah Charitable Trust vs. CIT(E) replied in part on 04.08.2024. The defect notice being curable , assessee may be allowed one more opportunity of being heard. The Bench does not want to go into merit of the case but it is imperative that the assessee must be provided adequate opportunity of being heard by the ld. CIT(E). In this view of the matter, the Bench feels that the assessee should be given one more chance to contest the case before the ld. CIT(E) and the assessee is directed to produce all the relevant papers concerning the application so filed before the ld. CIT(E) to settle the dispute raised hereinabove. 8. Before parting, we may make it clear that our decision to restore the matter back to the file of the ld. CIT(E) shall in no way be construed as having any reflection or expression on the merits of the dispute, which shall be adjudicated by the ld. CIT(E) independently in accordance with law. In the result, the appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes. Order pronounced in the open court on 21/03/2025. Sd/- Sd/- ¼ jkBkSM+ deys'k t;UrHkkbZ ½ ¼MkWa-,l-lhrky{eh½ (RATHOD KAMLESH JAYANTBHAI) (Dr. S. Seethalakshmi) ys[kk lnL; @Accountant Member U;kf;d lnL;@Judicial Member Tk;iqj@Jaipur fnukad@Dated:- 21/03/2025 *Santosh 6 ITA No. 1130/JPR/2024 Ashabe Suffah Charitable Trust vs. CIT(E) vkns'k dh izfrfyfi vxzsf’kr@Copy of the order forwarded to: 1. vihykFkhZ@The Appellant- Ashabe Suffah Charitable Trust, Jaipur. 2. izR;FkhZ@ The Respondent- CIT(E), jaipur. 3. vk;dj vk;qDr@ CIT 4. vk;dj vk;qDr@ CIT(A) 5. foHkkxh; izfrfuf/k] vk;dj vihyh; vf/kdj.k] t;iqj@DR, ITAT, Jaipur. 6. xkMZ QkbZy@ Guard File { ITA No.1130/JPR/2024} vkns'kkuqlkj@ By order lgk;d iathdkj@Asst. Registrar "