Mumbai ITAT: Absence of Original Section 12A Certificate Cannot Be Sole Basis for Denying Section 12AB Registration — Shree Ghughari Dasha Disawal Sahaj Trust Vs CIT (Exemption)
Overview of the Case
The Mumbai Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has delivered a significant ruling in the matter of Shree Ghughari Dasha Disawal Sahaj Trust Vs CIT (Exemption), holding that an application for renewal or continuation of registration under Section 12AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961 cannot be rejected purely on the ground that the assessee trust is unable to produce the physical copy of its original registration certificate issued under Section 12A nearly three decades ago.
The impugned order in this case was passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions), Mumbai on 22.02.2026, rejecting the application filed in Form No. 10AB by the trust seeking continuation of its registration under Section 12AB. The Tribunal, while setting aside the rejection, restored the matter to the CIT(E) for fresh adjudication with appropriate directions.
Background and Facts of the Case
The assessee trust had originally been granted registration under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 vide Certificate No. TR/32193 dated 19.09.1996. This registration had remained in force and was never cancelled, withdrawn, or declared invalid at any point in time.
Over the years following its initial registration, the trust had been consistently treated as a charitable institution by the Income Tax Department. Exemption under Section 11 had been extended to it across multiple assessment years, reflecting the Department's continued acknowledgement of its registered charitable status.
In consonance with the transition framework introduced by the Finance Act, 2020, the Department itself had subsequently granted the trust fresh registration under Section 12AB through Form No. 10AC dated 24.09.2021. This new registration, issued under the revamped regime applicable after 01.04.2021, was predicated on the trust's prior registration under the earlier Section 12A framework.
When the trust filed its application in Form No. 10AB seeking renewal/continuation of registration under Section 12AB, the CIT(E) called upon it to produce the original Section 12A certificate. The assessee submitted that the original certificate, being over 25 years old, had been inadvertently misplaced. It also brought to the Department's notice that a formal request for issuance of a duplicate certificate had already been made but had not been acted upon. Despite these submissions, the CIT(E) rejected the application solely citing the trust's failure to furnish the physical copy of the original registration certificate.