SAWANSUKHA FOUNDATION,KOLKATA V. CIT (EXEMPTION), , KOLKATA

ITA 1632/KOL/2025

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The case involves the Sawansukha Foundation, a registered trust under section 12A of the Income Tax Act, which appealed against the CIT(Exemption), Kolkata's decision to reject their application for final approval under section 80G(5)(iii) due to a perceived delay in filing Form 10AB. The trust had initially filed for the wrong assessment year due to an inadvertent error but corrected this by filing for AY 2025-26 on December 20, 2024. The CIT(Exemption) rejected the application citing the delay was beyond the prescribed limit and that there was no power to condone such delay. The tribunal found that the error was a bona fide mistake and directed the CIT(Exemption) to reconsider the application.

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 822992 (ITAT-KOLKATA)
• Duration Of Justice: 4 month(s) 29 day(s)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 22-12-2025
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Partly Allowed
• Bench Allotted: D
• Assessment Year: 2025-2026
• Appeal Filed On: 23-07-2025
• Other Referred Cases: ITA No. 2155/Kol/2024, ITA No.2156/Kol/2024
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act
• Result in Favour of: Partly Allowed
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Section: 12A; 80G

Judgement Text

"आयकर अपीलȣय अͬधकरण, कोलकाता पीठ, कोलकाता IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL “D” BENCH KOLKATA Before Shri Rajesh Kumar, Accountant Member and Shri Pradip Kumar Choubey, Judicial Member ITA No.1632/Kol/2025 Assessment Year: 2025-26 Sawansukha Foundation……….……………………….……….……….……Appellant 6, Camac Street, Circus Avenue S.G., Kol-700017.. [PAN: ABBTS2486E] vs. CIT(Exemption), Kolkata………………………………….....……...…..…..Respondent Appearances by: Shri S. K. Tulsiyan, Adv. And Puja Somani, CA, appeared on behalf of the appellant. Shri Sanat Kr. Raha, CIT-DR, appeared on behalf of the Respondent. Date of concluding the hearing : December 03, 2025 Date of pronouncing the order : December 22, 2025 ORDER Per Pradip Kumar Choubey, Judicial Member: The present appeal has been preferred by the assessee against the order dated 30.06.2025 of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption), Kolkata [hereinafter referred to as ‘CIT(E)’] rejecting the application filed in Form 10AB for final approval as per the provisions of section 80G(5)(iii) of the Income Tax Act (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act’). 2. Brief facts of the case of the assessee are that the assessee has been granted provisional approval u/s 80G(5)(iv) of the Act in Form 10AC by CPC, Bangalore on 28.05.2021 for a period from A.Y 2022-23 to 2024-25. Subsequently, an application for approval of the trust u/s 80G(5)(iii) of the Act was filed on 20.12.2024 by the assessee in Form 10AB. Notice was issued on 02.04.2025 to the assessee with a request for furnishing details of activities carried out as well as certain Printed from counselvise.com ITA No.1632/Kol/2025 Sawansukha Foundation 2 documents. In response to the notice, the assessee furnished certain details and the ld. CIT(E) after examining of the details submitted by the assessee rejected the application by holding that the activity of the assessee has already commenced and present application filed in Form 10AB for final approval was beyond the prescribed limit of the CBDT Circular and the CIT has no power to condone the delay in filing application in Form 10AB. 3. Aggrieved and dissatisfied, the assessee filed the present appeal before us. The ld. AR challenges the impugned order thereby submitting that the assessee is a registered trust u/s 12A of the Act and the assessee-Trust was required to file Form 10AB for A.Y 2025-26 for approval u/s 80G(5) of the Act by the extended due date 30-06-2024 but due to inadvertent mistake, it again applied for approval u/s 80G of the Act for A.Y 2024-25 though it was not required to file for A.Y 2024-25 since valid approval u/s 80G of the Act was duly available for A.Y 2024- 25. The ld. AR further submits that the same was an inadvertent error at the time of choosing assessment year in the drop-down menu while filing Form 10AB on 30-03-2024 wherein the A.Y 2024-25 was wrongly chosen instead of A.Y 2025-26 in the Form 10AB. His submission is that after acknowledging the mistake, the assessee as a matter of caution filed application in Form 10AB for A.Y 2025-26 on 20.12.2024. The ld. AR further submits that since the Form 10AB was filed on 20-12-2024, the ld. CIT(E) vide order dated 30-06-2025 rejected the Form 10AB on the ground that the Form was filed belatedly and CIT has no power to condone the delay in filing application in Form 10AB for 80G application. The ld. AR before us has filed the following submissions: “8 Reiterating the facts of the case, it is humbly submitted that the assessee is a newly incorporated trust vide trust deed dated 09-02-2021. Shri Akhilesh Pandey, staff of the assessee trust inadvertently choose the incorrect assessment year in the drop down menu while filing Form 10AB Printed from counselvise.com ITA No.1632/Kol/2025 Sawansukha Foundation 3 The said inadvertent mistake was brought to the notice of the trustees by its Tax Consultant at the time of filing appeal before the Hon'ble ITAT against the order of the learned CIT(E) dated 14-09-2024 for AY 2024-25. The above fact was duly submitted before the Hon'ble ITAT in the submissions filed before the Hon'ble ITAT in ITA No. 2155/Kol/2024 and ITA No.2156/Kol/2024. Copy of the judgment is enclosed. The tax consultant advised the assessee trust to immediately file Form 10AB for AY 2025-26 and accordingly Form 10AB was filed belatedly on 20-12- 2024. In view of the above facts, it is humbly submitted that Form 10AB was filed within time ie 30-03-2024. However, unintentionally the Form 10AB was filed choosing the wrong assessment year 2024-25 instead of AY 2025-26 though it was not required to file for AY 2024-25 since valid approval u/s 50G of the Act was duly available for AY 2024-25 vide order of the learned PCIT/CIT in Form 10AC dated 28-05-2021 9. In view of the above facts of the case, it is humbly requested before Your Honours to direct the learned CIT(E) to condone the delay in filing the Form 10AB for AY 2025-26 since the same was an inadvertent error on the part of the assessee trust.” 4. Contrary to that, the ld. DR supports the impugned order. 5. Upon hearing the submissions of the counsels of the respective parties, the assessee is registered trust u/s 12A of the Act and the assessee-Trust was required to file Form 10AB for A.Y 2025-26 for approval u/s 80G(5) of the Act by the extended due date 30-06-2024 but due to inadvertent mistake of the staff of the assessee trust, it choose the incorrect assessment year in the drop down menu while filing Form 10AB and the said inadvertent mistake was brought to the notice of the trustees by its Tax Consultant at the time of filing appeal before the Hon'ble ITAT against the order of the learned CIT(E) dated 14-09-2024 for A.Y 2024-25 and the Hon'ble ITAT after considering the submissions allowed the registration to continue for A.Y 2024-25 as per the original order granting such registration vide passing order in ITA No.2155 & 2156/Kol/2024. The ld. AR has submitted before us the following documents: Printed from counselvise.com ITA No.1632/Kol/2025 Sawansukha Foundation 4 6. Keeping in view the above discussion, we are inclined to restore the appeal of the assessee before the ld. CIT(E) with a direction to condone the delay in filing the Form 10AB for AY 2025-26 as bona fide mistake on the part of the assessee trust and consider the application for registration u/s 80G as within time. The ld. CIT(E) will consider the application for condonation in granting registration u/s 80G and pass order on merits. 7. In the result, the appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes. Kolkata, the 22nd December, 2025. Sd/- Sd/- [Rajesh Kumar] [Pradip Kumar Choubey] Accountant Member Judicial Member Dated: 22.12.2025. RS Printed from counselvise.com ITA No.1632/Kol/2025 Sawansukha Foundation 5 Copy of the order forwarded to: 1. Appellant - 2. Respondent - 3. CIT(A)- 4. CIT- , 5. CIT(DR), //True copy// By order Assistant Registrar, Kolkata Benches Printed from counselvise.com "