Form No. 107 for NPOs under the Income-tax Act, 2025 – Complete Practical Guide

Non-profit organisations seeking income-tax benefits under the Income-tax Act, 2025 must navigate a completely restructured registration and approval framework. At the core of this regime is Form No. 107, which is the formal order issued by the tax authorities for granting, rejecting, or cancelling registration or approval of an NPO under section 332 or section 354.

This guide explains how Form No. 107 operates, how it connects with Form No. 105, applicable timelines, validity of orders, conditions attached, and the structural features of the form as aligned with the new law.

1.1 Statutory Role of Form No. 107

Form No. 107 is not an application form. Instead, it is the order passed by the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner or Commissioner after an assessee files an application in Form No. 105. Through Form No. 107, the authority does any of the following:

  • Grants registration under section 332; or
  • Grants approval under section 354; or
  • Rejects the assessee’s application; or
  • Cancels an already granted registration/approval; or
  • Grants under one section and rejects under the other, where both codes have been applied for.

Under the Income-tax Act, 1961, such orders were earlier issued in Form 10AD for purposes of Section 12AB and Section 80G(5)(vi) read with Rules 11AA and 17A. Under the new Income-tax Act, 2025, the corresponding regime uses Form No. 107 under section 332(7) and section 354(3) read with Rule 181 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026.

1.2 Mapping to Old and New Law

  • Name under old rules (1962): Form 10AD
  • Name under new rules (2026): Form No. 107
  • Relevant sections under 1961 Act: Section 12AB, Section 80G(5)(vi)
  • Relevant sections under 2025 Act: Section 332(7), Section 354(3)
  • Relevant rules: Old Rules – Rule 11AA, Rule 17A; New Rules – Rule 181

2. Time Limit for Passing Order in Form No. 107

2.1 Standard Timeline

Once an assessee files Form No. 105 seeking regular registration or approval, the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner is required to pass the order in Form No. 107 within a fixed statutory time frame.

Time limit:
The order for granting registration/approval or for cancellation/rejection must be passed within 6 months from the end of the quarter in which the application in Form No. 105 is submitted.

This time limit uniformly applies to:

  • Grant of regular registration under section 332;
  • Grant of regular approval under section 354;
  • Rejection of the application;
  • Cancellation of existing registration or approval while considering a fresh application, where applicable.

3. Validity Period of Registration/Approval under Form No. 107

The validity of the order passed in Form No. 107 depends on specific factual situations.

3.1 General Rule – 5 Tax Years

In most cases (barring prescribed exceptions), registration or approval granted through Form No. 107 remains valid for:

Five tax years starting from the tax year in which the application in Form No. 105 is filed.

This is the default validity for regular registration or approval under the new regime.

3.2 Special Scenario 1 – Provisional Registration/Approval and Expiry Cases

Where:

  1. The assessee’s provisional registration or provisional approval is about to lapse and activities have not yet commenced; or
  2. The existing period of approval of a registered non-profit organisation is coming to an end,

then the validity rule changes as follows:

The new regular registration/approval granted in Form No. 107 will be valid for five tax years immediately following the tax year in which the fresh application is made.

3.3 Special Scenario 2 – Small NPOs with Income below ₹5 crore

Where an assessee satisfies both of the following conditions:

  1. The total income, computed without applying the provisions of Part B of Chapter XVII, for each of the two tax years immediately preceding the current tax year in which application is made, does not exceed ₹5 crore; and
  2. The assessee has been previously registered or approved either under the Income-tax Act, 1961 or under the Income-tax Act, 2025;

then a longer validity is available: