ROTARY CLUB OF UPPER KANDIVALI CHARITABLE TRUST,MUMBAI V. CIT (EXEMPTION) , MUMBAI

ITA 6340/MUM/2024

AI Insights

The case involves the Rotary Club of Upper Kandivali Charitable Trust, which appealed against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions) rejecting their application for registration under section 80G(5)(ii) of the Income Tax Act. The trust, established on August 1, 2022, and registered with the Charity Commissioner and under section 12AB, mistakenly indicated 'religious' as one of its activities in the application form due to an inadvertent error. Despite multiple clarifications and evidence provided by the trust to rectify this mistake, the Commissioner rejected the application. The trust filed an appeal with the Tribunal after a delay, which was condoned, leading to the remittance of the matter back to the Commissioner for a fresh decision.

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 26536 (ITAT-MUMBAI)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 31-01-2025
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Allowed
• Bench Allotted: D
• Assessment Year: misc
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Department Lawyers: SANYOGITA NAGPAL
• Keywords: Charitable institution
• Section: 80G

Judgement Text

" IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, ‘D’ BENCH MUMBAI BEFORE: SHRI AMIT SHUKLA, JUDICIAL MEMBER & SHRI GIRISH AGRAWAL, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER ITA No.6340/Mum/2024 (Assessment Year :-) Rotary Club of Upper Kandivali Charitable Trust 2402, IBIS Tower Near Renuka Nagar New Link Road Kandivali (W) Mumbai- 400 067 Vs. Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions), Mumbai PAN/GIR No.AAETR8698H (Appellant) .. (Respondent) by Shri Ketan Vajani Revenue by Smt. Sanyogita Nagpal Date of Hearing 29/01/2025 Date of Pronouncement 31/01/2025 आदेश / O R D E R PER AMIT SHUKLA (J.M): The aforesaid appeal has been filed by the assessee against order passed by ld. CIT(E) dated 28/02/2024 rejecting the assessee’s application for 80G in Form 10AB. 2. The assessee is a Charitable Trust set up on 01/08/2022 and was registered with Charity Commissioner, Greater Mumbai Region vide certificate of registration granted on 24/11/2022. ITA No. 6340/Mum/2024 Rotary Club of Upper Kandivali Charitable Trust 2 The assessee is also registered with the Commissioner of Income- tax (Exemptions) u/s. 12AB and holding the Registration Number: AAETR8698H24MB01. The copy of the order dated 28- 8-2024 granting the registration w/s. 12AB has been filed before us. The assessee was allowed provisional registration u/s. 80G (5)(ii) vide the certificate dated 28/2/2023. On 20/02/2024, the assessee made an application for regularizing the registration u/s. 80G(5)(ii). The application was made in Form No. 10AB. While filing this application, the assessee, through an inadvertent error ticked \"Religious\" as one of the activities of the assessee trust in column 5 of the Form. This was stated due to an inadvertent error while filing the Form No. 10AB. The assessee, as a matter of fact, has never carried on any religious activities. The Trust deed of the assessee in fact does not contain religious activities as one of the objects of the Trust. This was pointed out can be verified from the Objects of the Trust. Our attention was drawn on the clause No. 27 of Form No. 10AB, wherein, it is clearly stated in Clause 27(a) of the Form that the trust has not incurred any expenditure of religious nature. 3. The Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemptions) vide letter dated 03/08/2024 called for an explanation in relation to the \"Religious\" being one of the objects as mentioned in clause 5 of the Form No. 10AB. The assessee, vide its letter dated 07/08/2024, filed on 12/08/2024, submitted to the ld.CTT (E) that the objects of the trust do not include \"religious\" as one of the objects and that the trust does not carry any religious ITA No. 6340/Mum/2024 Rotary Club of Upper Kandivali Charitable Trust 3 activities. The assessee also furnished the copy of the Trust Deed with this letter. The assessee also furnished few further documents viz., proof of expenses from the incorporation of the trust till 30/6/2024, year-wise bank statements, and also provisional accounts for the FY 2023-24 and also for the period from 1/4/2024 to 30/6/2024. The assessee, once again, vide letter dated 12/8/2024, filed on 27/8/2024 reiterated that the trust do not carry any religious activity and are therefore, not in violation of approval u/s. 800(5). The assessee also clarified that it even does not intend to carry any religious activity in future and the tick mark in the box of religious activity was by mistake. The assessee once again filed documentary evidences like Trust Deed, proof of expenses incurred, bank statements, payment receipts, photographs etc. for the period since incorporation of the trust till 30/6/2024. The assessee requested to pardon the unintended mistake and allow the registration w/s. 80G(5)(ii) of the Act. 4. However the ld. CIT (E), passed the order dated 28/8-2024 rejecting the registration u/s. 80G (5)(ii) of the Act. The order of the ld.CIT (E) was communicated to the assessee on 28/8/2024. However, the assessee had a bona-fide belief that since the rejection of registration was on account of incorrect belief about the activities of the trust, the order of the ld.CIT (E) can be corrected by way of rectification by the ld.CIT (E). The assessee accordingly, tried for the same by personal visits to the ld.CIT (E). However, the assessee was informed on 26/11/2024 that the ITA No. 6340/Mum/2024 Rotary Club of Upper Kandivali Charitable Trust 4 power to amend the order passed is not available with the ld.CIT (E). In view of this, the assessee filed an appeal before the Hon'ble Tribunal on 05/12/2024. Accordingly, there was a delay of 39 days in filing the appeal before the Tribunal. The assessee has filed the affidavit explaining the reasons for the delay with the appeal documents. 5. After considering the aforesaid facts and submissions, the delay of 39 days is condoned. Since there was an inadvertent mistake by putting tick mark against the text of “religious” object, whereas assessee never carried out any such religious activities as was brought on record before the ld. CIT (E) on every occasion and also before us. Accordingly, this matter is remitted back to the file of the ld. CIT(E) to pass afresh order and after considering the documents grant certificate u/s.80G, if found in accordance with the provision of law. 6. In the result, appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes. Order pronounced on 31st January,2025. Sd/- (GIRISH AGRAWAL) Sd/- (AMIT SHUKLA) ACCOUNTANT MEMBER JUDICIAL MEMBER Mumbai; Dated 31/01/2025 KARUNA, sr.ps Copy of the Order forwarded to : 1. The Appellant 2. The Respondent. 3. CIT ITA No. 6340/Mum/2024 Rotary Club of Upper Kandivali Charitable Trust 5 BY ORDER, (Asstt. Registrar) ITAT, Mumbai Date Initial 1. Draft dictated on Sr.PS 2. Draft placed before author Sr.PS 3. Draft proposed & placed before the second member JM/AM 4. Draft discussed/approved by Second Member. JM/AM 5. Approved Draft comes to the Sr.PS/PS Sr.PS/P S 6. Kept for pronouncement on Sr.PS 7. File sent to the Bench Clerk Sr.PS 8. Date on which file goes to the AR 9. Date on which file goes to the Head Clerk. 10. Date of dispatch of Order. 11. Dictation Pad is enclosed Yes 4. DR, ITAT, Mumbai 5. Guard file. //True Copy// "