SOCIETY FOR HIMALYAN ENVIRONMENTAL VOICE ASPECT SHEVA,CHAMOLI vs. EXEMPTION WARD, DEHRADUN

IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL DEHRADUN BENCH, DEHRADUN Before Shri Raj Kumar Chauhan, Judicial Member & Shri Sanjay Awasthi, Accountant Member ITA No. 307/DDN/2026 :Asstt. Year : 2025-26 ITA No. 308/DDN/2026 :Asstt. Year : 2025-26 Society for Himalyan Environmental Vs CIT, Voice Aspect Sheva, Suraj Sadan, Exemption Ward, Subhash Nagar, Gopeshwar, Dehradun, 13-A, Subhash Chamoli, Uttarakhand-246401 Road, Uttarakhand-248001 (APPELLANT) (RESPONDENT) PAN No. ABQAS6094J Assesseeby : Sh. Siddharth Kaushik, Adv. Revenue by : Sh. Deepak Choudhary, JCIT Date of Hearing: 22.07.2026 Date of Pronouncement: 23.07.2026

ORDER Per Raj Kumar Chauhan, Judicial Member: The appeals of the assessee are directed against order dated 23.03.2026 of the Ld. CIT(Exemption), Lucknow, wherein the application for registration u/s 12AB(1)(b)(ii)(B) of the Act as well as approval u/s 80G(5) of the Act were denied on the ground that the application in Form 10AB was filed late.

2 ITA Nos. 307& 308/DDN/2026 Society For Himalyan Environmental Voice Aspect Sheva 3. Aggrieved by the impugned order, the assessee is in appeal before us and has raised the following grounds: “1. Impugned order passed without providing reasonable opportunity of being heard is not sustainable. 2. Rejection of application for order of registration u/s 12A merely due to technical grounds o delay in filing Form 10AB without appreciating bonafide reasons and genuine charitable objectives.” 4. We have heard the ld. AR and the ld. DR. The ld. AR at the very outset submitted that the applicant is a charitable society and could not file Form 10AB in time inadvertently and the dismissal of the application has resulted into miscarriage of justice. It is stated that due to bonafide reason including lack of proper professional guidance, technical issue on portal and inadvertent delay, the Form 10AB could not be filed within the prescribed time. It is further stated that immediately upon becoming aware of the requirement, the appellant filed Form 10AB for obtaining registration u/s 12AB as well as approval u/s 80G of the Act. It is therefore prayed that the delay in filing Form 10AB be condoned in the larger interest of justice as the reasons for delay were sufficiently explained before the ld. CIT(E) who has not considered the same holistically. In support of his case, the ld. Counsel has relied the case of Co- ordinate Bench of Bombay ITAT in the case Cartrade Foundation Vs. CIT(E) in ITA Nos. 7923 & 7924/Mum/2025, order dated 27.02.2026 wherein similar issue has been decided

3 ITA Nos. 307& 308/DDN/2026 Society For Himalyan Environmental Voice Aspect Sheva by the ld. Co-ordinate Bench in favour of the assessee by restoring the file to the ld. CIT(E) for deciding application de novo after condoning the delay in filing Form 10AB. The finding of the ld. Co-ordinate bench which is relevant to the issue before us is extracted below as under: “7. From the perusal of the impugned order, more specifically para-5, it is evident that the learned CIT(E), without taking into consideration the application filed by the assessee seeking condonation of the delay, rejected the application filed by the assessee for regularisation of provisional approval in Form No. 10AB, inter alia, on the ground of late filing of the application. 8. During the hearing, the learned AR reiterated the submissions made by the assessee before the learned CIT(E) and submitted that solely due to lack of awareness of the newly introduced procedural requirement for seeking registration under section 12A of the Act, Form No. 10AB for regularisation of provisional registration could not be filed within the prescribed limitation period. During the hearing, in support of its submission, the learned AR also placed reliance upon the CBDT Circular No.7 of 2024 dated 25.04.2024, whereby in all cases where the time limit for filing Form No. 10AB was expiring on 30.09.2023 was extended till 30.06.2024. Accordingly, the learned AR submitted that the delay is only of 8.5 months as against 18 months computed by the learned CIT(E). 9. On the other hand, the learned Departmental Representative (“learned DR”), by vehemently relying upon the order passed by the learned CIT(E), submitted that the timeline as provided in section 12A(1)(ac)(iii) of the Act is mandatory. In this regard, the learned DR placed reliance upon the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in PCIT vs Wipro Ltd., reported in (2022) 140 Taxman 223 (SC). 10. Having considered the submissions of both sides and perused the material available on record. At the outset, it is pertinent to note that the first proviso to section 12A(1)(ac) of the Act grants the power to the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner to condone the delay in filing the application if there is reasonable cause for not filing the application within the prescribed time. From the perusal of section 10A(8) of the Act, which was under consideration before the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Wipro Ltd. (supra), we find that no such power has been granted to the Assessing Officer to condone the delay in furnishing the declaration, as required, beyond

4 ITA Nos. 307& 308/DDN/2026 Society For Himalyan Environmental Voice Aspect Sheva the due date for furnishing the return of income. Thus, we are of the considered view that in such circumstances, the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Wipro Ltd. (supra) held that the requirements of section 10A(8) of the Act are mandatory in nature. However, from a plain reading of the provisions of section 12A(1)(ac) of the Act, it is evident that the statute authorises the learned CIT(E) to condone the delay in filing Form No. 10AB upon being satisfied regarding the existence of reasonable cause for the delay. 11. In the present case, the provisional registration in Form No. 10AC was granted to the assessee on 31.12.2021, valid up to the assessment year 2024-25. Since as per the provisions of section 12A(1)(ac)(iii) of the Act, in case where the Trust or institution has been provisionally registered under section 12AB, the application for regularisation of provisional registration is required to be made by the assessee at least six months prior to the expiry of the provisional registration or within six months of commencement of its activities, whichever is earlier. The learned CIT(E), on the basis that the assessee should have filed an application in Form No.10AB for regularisation of provisional registration, latest by the end of September 2023, rejected the application filed by the assessee in Form No. 10AB on the ground of delay. As noted in the foregoing paragraphs, as per the assessee, the delay occurred is purely inadvertent and unintentional, caused due to lack of awareness of the newly introduced procedural requirement, on the basis that Trustees were not aware of the amended provisions requiring timely refiling of Form No. 10AB for conversion of provisional approval into final registration. We find that prior to the insertion of the proviso to section 12A(1)(ac)(iii) of the Act, the CBDT was exercising the power for condonation of delay in filing Form No. 10A/10AB. In order to avoid and mitigate genuine hardship in cases of delayed filing of Form No. 10A/10AB, the CBDT vide Circular No.7 of 2024 dated 25.04.2024 extended the timeline for filing Form No.10A/10AB in exercise of powers conferred under section 119 of the Act. After the insertion of the proviso to section 12A(1)(ac) of the Act by the Finance (No. 2) Act 2024, w.e.f. 01.10.2024, the learned CIT(E) has been empowered to condone the delay in filing the application. 12. We find that, in the present case, reasons stated by the assessee for seeking condonation of delay in filing Form No. 10AB fall within the parameters for grant of condonation laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Collector, Land Acquisition, Anantnag vs MST Katiji and others, reported in 1987 (2) SCR 387. It is well established that rules of procedure are handmaid of justice. When substantial justice and technical considerations are pitted against each other, the cause of substantial justice deserves to be preferred. It is evident from the record that in the present case, the assessee

5 ITA Nos. 307& 308/DDN/2026 Society For Himalyan Environmental Voice Aspect Sheva did not stand to benefit from the late filing of Form No. 10AB for the regularisation of provisional registration. It is further undisputed that the assessee filed Form No. 10AB on 28.03.2025 for the regularisation of provisional registration. 13. Having considered the submissions of the learned AR and the reasons stated by the assessee before the learned CIT(E), we are of the considered view that the assessee has proved sufficient cause for not filing Form No. 10AB within the prescribed time before the learned CIT(E). Accordingly, we are of the considered view that the said delay should be condoned. …………. 18. Therefore, having considered the facts and circumstances of the present case, we deem it appropriate to set aside the impugned order and restore the application filed by the assessee in Form No. 10AB for regularisation of provisional registration under section 12AB of the Act to the file of the learned CIT(E) for de novo adjudication, after condoning the delay in filing Form No. 10AB by the assessee and consideration of the amended Memorandum of Association, as per law. We direct the assessee to bring on record the necessary documentation before the learned CIT(E) for its consideration. With the above directions, the grounds raised by the assessee are allowed for statistical purposes. Needless to mention, no order shall be passed without affording reasonable and adequate opportunity of hearing to the assessee. Further, the assessee is directed to appear before the learned CIT(E) on all dates of hearing as may be fixed without any default. 19. As we remit the issue of grant of registration under section 12AB of the Act to the file of the learned CIT(E) for de novo adjudication, the order of the learned CIT(E) rejecting the application for registration under section 80G of the Act is also set aside and the matter is restored to the file of the learned CIT(E) for deciding afresh. As a result, the grounds raised by the assessee are allowed for statistical purposes. 20. In the result, both the appeals filed by the assessee are allowed for statistical purposes.” 5. The ld. DR on the other hand stated that the explanation given for delay is not satisfactory and the application was rightly rejected by the ld. CIT(E).

6 ITA Nos. 307& 308/DDN/2026 Society For Himalyan Environmental Voice Aspect Sheva 6. We have considered the rival submissions and examined the record. The ld. CIT(E) has rejected the application observing as under:

“2. As per the provisions contained in clause (ii) of clause (ac) to sub-section (1) of section 12A of the Income-tax Act, the application was required to be filed at least six months prior to expiry of the period of the provisional approval or within six months of commencement of its activities, whichever is earlier. Since, the applicant is provisionally approved from AY 2023-24 to AY 2025-26, therefore, the application in form 10 AB was required to be filed, in either case on or before 30.09.2024. Despite this, the applicant failed to furnish the application within the due date. Furthermore, the assessee did not file any application seeking condonation of delay for the late filing of Form 10AB.” 7. It is thus evident that the reasons given by the ld. CIT(E) are identical for rejection which were in order of the ld. CIT(E) before the ld. Co-ordinate Bench and as extracted above. The ld. Co-ordinate Bench has set aside the ld. CIT(E) order and restored the file to the ld. CIT(E) for de novo decision on the application after condoning the delay in filing Form 10AB. Therefore, respectfully following the order of ld. Co-ordinate Bench, we are inclined to accept the explanation for delay in filing the Form 10AB seeking registration u/s 12AB alongwith approval u/s 80G by the assessee/appellant before us. Accordingly, the impugned order is set aside and matter is restored to the file of the ld. CIT(E) for deciding afresh after condoning the delay in filing Form 10AB. The assessee/applicant is also directed to make the necessary

7 ITA Nos. 307& 308/DDN/2026 Society For Himalyan Environmental Voice Aspect Sheva submissions/ detailed material before the Ld. CIT(E) in order to canvass its case appropriately before the Ld. CITE(E).