CIT(EXEMPTIONS), KOLKATA. , KOLKATA V. PRAVAT, PURULIA

MA 18/KOL/2024

AI Insights

The case involves multiple Miscellaneous Applications (MAs) filed by the CIT (Exemptions), Kolkata, concerning the registration status of various charitable trusts under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The trusts in question had initially been granted registration, which was later subject to re-evaluation under amended provisions. The Tribunal had previously set aside the CIT (Exemptions)'s decision, leading to the current MAs, which argued that the Tribunal had misunderstood the nature of the trusts' registration as provisional rather than final. The Tribunal acknowledged the error in its earlier assumption and corrected the record, leading to the recall of the previous order and the restoration of the appeals.

• Counselvise Citation: [2024] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 46757 (ITAT-KOLKATA)
• Duration Of Justice: 5 month(s) 25 day(s)
• Appeal Type: Miscellaneous Application
• Pronouncement Date: 18-10-2024
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Allowed
• Bench Allotted: A
• Assessment Year: misc
• Appeal Filed On: 23-04-2024
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Keywords: Set aside; Charitable institution
• Section: 12A

Judgement Text

"आयकर अपीलीय अधिकरण कोलकाता 'सी' पीठ, कोलकाता में IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL KOLKATA ‘C’ BENCH, KOLKATA श्री संजय गगग, न्याधयक सदस्य एवं श्री संजय अवस्थी, लेखा सदस्य क े समक्ष Before SRI SANJAY GARG, JUDICIAL MEMBER & SRI SANJAY AWASTHI, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER M.A. No.: 18/KOL/2024 In I.T.A. No.: 917/KOL/2023 Assessment Year: N.A. CIT(Exemptions), Kolkata........................................................Appellant Vs. Pravat………………………………………………………………………..Respondent [PAN: AABTP 6220 G] M.A. No.: 24/KOL/2024 In I.T.A. No.: 941/KOL/2023 Assessment Year: N.A. CIT(Exemptions), Kolkata........................................................Appellant Vs. Vivekananda Lokasiksha Mondir……………………………………Respondent [PAN: AAATV 2384 A] M.A. No.: 25/KOL/2024 In I.T.A. No.: 961/KOL/2023 Assessment Year: N.A. CIT(Exemptions), Kolkata........................................................Appellant Vs. Santiniketan Sishutirtha………………………………………………Respondent [PAN: AAJTS 6125 R] M.A. Nos.: 18, 24, 25 & 26/KOL/2024 Pravat Vivekananda Lokasiksha Mondir Santiniketan Sishutirtha Ghosaldanga Bishunbati Adibasi Trust. Page 2 of 6 M.A. No.: 26/KOL/2024 In I.T.A. No.: 938/KOL/2023 Assessment Year: N.A. CIT(Exemptions), Kolkata........................................................Appellant Vs. Ghosaldanga Bishunbati Adibasi Trust……………………………Respondent [PAN: AAATG 7101 N] Appearances: Department represented by: A. Kundu, CIT D/R. Assessee represented by: P.K. Ray, A/R. Date of concluding the hearing : October 18th, 2024 Date of pronouncing the order : October 18th, 2024 ORDER Per Sanjay Garg, Judicial Member: The above Miscellaneous Applications have been moved by the Revenue pleading that a mistake apparent on record has occurred in the orders of the Tribunal dated 09.02.2024 and 30.01.2024 passed in ITA Nos. 917/KOL/2023, 941/KOL/2023, 961/KOL/2023 & 938/KOL/2023. We will take MA No. 18/KOL/2024 in ITA No. 917/KOL/2023 to be the lead case. 1.1. It has been pleaded in the captioned Miscellaneous Applications that the assessee Trust was an existing charitable Trust u/s 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (in short the 'Act') before 01.04.2021 and the assessee had applied for fresh registration u/s 12A(1)(ac)(i) of the Act and fresh registration was granted vide Form no. 10AC issued on 28.05.2021 which was valid up to AY 2026-27. However, the assessee again applied for registration u/s 12A(1)(ac)(ii) of the Act, which was rejected by the CIT (Exemptions), Kolkata observing that the registration of the assessee was valid till AY 2026-27 and there was no need to apply again. However, the assessee filed appeal before this Tribunal and the Tribunal set aside the order of ld. CIT (Exemption) and held that there was no bar in moving the application for final registration and restored the matter to ld. CIT (Exemption) to consider the application of the M.A. Nos.: 18, 24, 25 & 26/KOL/2024 Pravat Vivekananda Lokasiksha Mondir Santiniketan Sishutirtha Ghosaldanga Bishunbati Adibasi Trust. Page 3 of 6 assessee for final registration. It has been pleaded that the registration granted to the assessee vide order dated 28.05.2021 was already a final registration and not a provisional registration. That the provisional registration has to be granted to new Trusts and not to those Trusts which were already registered before 01.04.2021. It has therefore been pleaded that a mistake apparent on record has occurred in the order of the Tribunal. 1.2. Ld. Counsel for the respondent has also agreed that the assessee had applied for final registration u/s 12A(1)(ac)(iii) of the Act under a mistaken belief that the earlier was a provisional registration and that the assessee was supposed to apply for final registration u/s 12A(1)(ac)(iii) of the Act. 2. We have considered the rival submission and gone through the record. We find from the record that in this case, the assessee was already registered u/s 12A of the Act as a charitable institution vide order dated 15.10.2014 of ld. CIT (Exemption) with effect from 01.04.2009. An amendment was brought into the relevant provisions, whereby, the institution which stood already registered u/s 12A of the Act on or before 01.04.2021, had to apply for fresh registration under the provisions of Section 12A(1)(ac)(i) of the Act. The assessee accordingly applied for registration u/s 12A(1)(ac)(i) of the Act on 02.05.2021. The said application of the assessee was allowed on 28.05.2021. However, both the assessee as well as the ld. CIT (Exemption) have misconstrued the provisions and were of the view that the said registration was a provisional registration and that the assessee was supposed to apply for final registration. A perusal of the certificate granted in Form no. 10AC by the ld. CIT (Exemption) dated 28.05.2021 reveals that ld. CIT (Exemption) mentioned in the title “Order for provisional registration” and even in column 9 of the said registration the ld. CIT (Exemption) has expressly mentioned that it was an order of provisional registration. The assessee/appellant under the circumstances applied for final registration u/s 12A(1)(ac)(iii) of the Act. Thereafter, ld. CIT (Exemption) also carried out certain enquiries and investigations and called upon the assessee to furnish certain replies and evidences, which were duly furnished by the assessee. Thereafter, ld. CIT M.A. Nos.: 18, 24, 25 & 26/KOL/2024 Pravat Vivekananda Lokasiksha Mondir Santiniketan Sishutirtha Ghosaldanga Bishunbati Adibasi Trust. Page 4 of 6 (Exemption) vide a small and cryptic order rejected the application of the assessee stating therein that the earlier order in Form no. 10AC was still valid till AY 2026-27 and the application of the assessee was premature. Being aggrieved by the said order of the ld. CIT (Exemption), the assessee preferred appeal before us. 2.1. It is to be noted at this stage that in many other cases, wherein, the Trusts or institutions have been provisionally registered under Item ‘A’, sub- Clause (vi) of Section 12A(1)(ac) of the Act read with Section 12AB(1)(c) of the Act and such institutions had applied for final registration u/s 12A(1)(ac)(iii) of the Act read with Section 12AB(1)(b) of the Act, in such cases also, the ld. CIT (Exemption) has rejected the application for final registration alleging that the same was premature and this Tribunal in many cases has held that there was no bar to the applicant/assessee society to make an application for final registration even at the earliest possible event and it was not required to wait in the expiry of the provisional registration. 2.2. Since in this case also the ld. CIT (Exemption), in his order dated 28.05.2021, has mentioned that the registration granted to the assessee was provisional and further in the impugned order dated 09.08.2023 has rejected the application of the assessee for final/regular registration stating the same as to be premature, hence, under the circumstances, the assessee had come in appeal before us against the said rejection. This Tribunal under the circumstances as narrated above, directed the ld. CIT (Exemption) to consider the application of the assessee for final registration. 2.3. Now, the Department has come with Miscellaneous Application stating therein that the observation of this Tribunal is based on incorrect assumption of facts and that the Tribunal has assumed that the assessee has been granted provisional registration whereas, the registration granted to the assessee earlier vide order dated 28.05.2021 was a regular/final registration. As noted above, the aforesaid observation of the Tribunal was on account of wrong mentioning of facts by the ld. CIT (Exemption) in his order dated M.A. Nos.: 18, 24, 25 & 26/KOL/2024 Pravat Vivekananda Lokasiksha Mondir Santiniketan Sishutirtha Ghosaldanga Bishunbati Adibasi Trust. Page 5 of 6 28.05.2021 stating the said order to be a provisional order and also considering the fact that the ld. CIT (Exemption) has even dismissed the applications for final registration in cases of many other assessee Trusts/institutions, who were granted provisional registration, as noted above. However, the fact on the file is that the assessee has already been granted the regular registration u/s 12A(1)(ac)(i) read with Section 12AB(1)(a) of the Act, therefore, there was no requirement of setting aside the matter to the tile of the ld. CIT (Exemption). Therefore, under these circumstances, an inadvertent error apparent on record has occurred in the order of the Tribunal because of wrong presentation of facts by the parties. Therefore, the impugned order of the Tribunal dated 09.08.2023 passed in ITA No. 917/KOL/2023 is hereby recalled. The Registry is directed to restore the appeal at its original number. Since the entire facts and circumstances of the case has already been considered and adjudicated upon by us while deciding this Miscellaneous Application, therefore, no useful purpose will be served in fixing the main appeals on a later date. The Registry is directed to fix the main appeals for hearing for today, itself, so that the same may be adjudicated in the light of observations made in this Miscellaneous Application. Copy of this order be also placed in the main appeal. 3. Since the facts and issue involved in all the Miscellaneous Applications are identical, hence our findings given in MA No. 18/KOL/2024 would mutatis mutandis apply to all the captioned Miscellaneous Applications. 4. In the result, the Miscellaneous Applications filed by the Department are hereby allowed. Order pronounced in the open Court on 18th October, 2024. Sd/- Sd/- [Sanjay Awasthi] [Sanjay Garg] Accountant Member Judicial Member Dated: 18.10.2024 Bidhan (P.S.) M.A. Nos.: 18, 24, 25 & 26/KOL/2024 Pravat Vivekananda Lokasiksha Mondir Santiniketan Sishutirtha Ghosaldanga Bishunbati Adibasi Trust. Page 6 of 6 Copy of the order forwarded to: 1. CIT(Exemptions), Kolkata. 2. Pravat, Purulia, Gopalnagar, B.O, Gopalnagar, Purulia, West Bengal, 723128. 3. Vivekananda Lokasiksha Mondir, Muradpur, Muradpur B.O, Miradpur, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, 721625. 4. Santiniketan Sishutirtha, Sohini, Digantapally, Santiniketan, Goalpara, Santiniketan S.O, Birbhum, West Bengal, 731235. 5. Ghosaldanga Bishunbati Adibasi Trust, Ghosaldanga, P.O. Sattore, Birbhum, West Bengal, 731236. 6. CIT(A)- 7. CIT- 8. CIT(DR), Kolkata Benches, Kolkata. 9. Guard File. //True copy // By order Assistant Registrar ITAT, Kolkata Benches Kolkata "