ST. JOSEPHS HIGH SCHOOL,MUMBAI vs. CIT(EXEMPTIONS), MUMBAI, MUMBAI

Brief facts are that the assessee, St. Joseph High School, is an old public charitable educational institution which has been in existence since prior to the enactment of the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950. It was subsequently registered under the said Act, now known as the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950, vide Registration No. D-169 dated 11.10.1955. The assessee has, since its inception, been engaged in imparting education and is administering an English-medium primary and secondary school under the name and style of “St. Joseph High School”. The school is duly recognised by the Education Department, Government of Maharashtra, and receives grant-in-aid from the State Government. It presently has approximately 2,000 students belonging to different communities, and its principal object is to provide education to the public at large without discrimination on the basis of religion, race or language.

The assessee was granted registration under section 12A of the Act vide Registration No. INS/911 dated 07.08.1975 and has enjoyed registration and exemption under the Act for several decades. Under the substituted registration regime brought into effect from 01.04.2021, it was granted registration under section 12AB in Form No. 10AC dated

During the course of proceedings, the learned CIT(E), vide notice dated 14.11.2025, required the assessee to furnish, inter alia, a self-certified copy of the instrument of trust or Memorandum of Association. In response thereto, the assessee furnished its reply dated 24.11.2025 along with the application made before the Charity Commissioner, the certificate of registration issued under the Bombay Public Trusts Act, its registration under the Income-tax Act, the recognition granted by the Education Department and other documents evidencing its creation, continued existence, objects and educational activities. The assessee specifically explained that it had not been created under a separate written trust deed or Memorandum of Association and, therefore, no such instrument was available.

The learned CIT(E), however, held that the application submitted before the Charity Commissioner and the certificate of registration merely evidenced the registration of the public trust and did not constitute an instrument or document evidencing its creation or establishment. He further observed that the assessee had neither furnished a formal

Before us, the learned counsel submitted that the assessee is a long-established public charitable educational institution which has been continuously imparting education for several decades. It stands registered under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act since 11.10.1955, was granted registration under section 12A as far back as on 07.08.1975 and was thereafter granted registration under section 12AB in Form No. 10AC dated 28.05.2021. The school is recognised and aided by the Education Department and presently imparts education to approximately 2,000 students belonging to all communities. It was thus submitted that the creation, establishment and continued existence of the assessee, as well as the genuineness of its educational activities, stood fully

We have heard the parties and perused the material placed on record. The application for renewal has been rejected essentially for the reason that the assessee could not produce a formal instrument of trust or Memorandum of Association. It is, however, not in dispute that the assessee has been registered as a public charitable trust under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act since 11.10.1955, has enjoyed registration under section 12A since 07.08.1975 and was granted registration under the substituted regime in Form No. 10AC dated 28.05.2021. It is also an admitted fact that the assessee is administering a primary and secondary school duly recognised by the Education Department and receiving grant- in-aid from the State Government. Significantly, the impugned order does not record any adverse finding regarding the charitable nature of its objects, the genuineness of its educational activities, or any non-compliance with another law material for achieving its objects.

The application made before the Charity Commissioner, the certificate of registration and the entries maintained by the competent authority under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act cannot be regarded as documents merely evidencing the factum of registration. Registration under the said Act follows a statutory process under which the competent authority

The reliance placed by the learned CIT(E) upon sections 3 and 5 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, is also misplaced. Section 1 of the said Act expressly provides that nothing contained therein applies to public or private religious or charitable endowments. The assessee before us is admittedly a public charitable educational institution registered under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, and its creation, existence and administration are required to be examined in the context of the law governing public trusts and the documentary requirements prescribed under Rule 17A. The requirements applicable to private trusts under section 5 of the Indian Trusts Act cannot be imported into section 12AB so as to insist upon a formal written instrument even where Rule 17A(2)(b) expressly recognises an institution created or

This issue is directly covered by the decision of the Coordinate Bench in St. Joseph’s High School v. CIT(E) (supra), wherein it was held that the absence of a formal trust deed or Memorandum of Association cannot, by itself, constitute a valid ground for rejecting an application under section 12AB where the institution was established otherwise than under an instrument and had furnished cogent statutory and documentary evidence of its creation, continued existence, objects and activities. It was further held that registration under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act and the records maintained by the Charity Commissioner constitute relevant evidentiary material for the purposes of Rule 17A(2)(b).

The same principle was followed in School of St. John the Evangelist v. CIT(E) (supra), involving a long-established public charitable educational institution which was likewise registered under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, had enjoyed registration under the Income-tax Act for several

We may also observe that the learned CIT(E), in the concluding portion of the impugned order, has himself recorded that the assessee’s existing regular registration would continue to remain valid until Assessment Year 2026- 27 and that the rejection was intended to operate as a “gentle reminder” to formulate a suitable instrument defining the functioning of the trust or to obtain a scheme from the Charity Commissioner or a competent Court. This observation itself demonstrates that the rejection was not founded upon any adverse conclusion concerning the assessee’s charitable objects or the genuineness of its educational activities, but was principally intended to secure the formulation of a formal governing instrument. Such an administrative consideration, howsoever desirable it may appear, cannot enlarge the statutory requirements of section 12AB read with Rule 17A(2)

Accordingly, respectfully following the aforesaid decisions and considering that the assessee is a long-established public charitable educational institution registered under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act since 11.10.1955, has enjoyed registration under section 12A since 07.08.1975, was granted registration under section 12AB in Form No. 10AC dated 28.05.2021, and has continuously carried on the charitable activity of imparting education through a school duly recognised and aided by the Education Department, we hold that the absence of a formal trust deed or Memorandum of Association, by itself, could not have been treated as a fatal defect. The impugned order dated 29.03.2026 is therefore set aside, and the learned CIT(E) is directed to grant renewal of registration under section 12AB to the assessee in accordance with law. Since the existing registration is stated to be valid only up to Assessment Year 2026-27, the learned CIT(E) shall give effect to this direction expeditiously.