GHANSHYAM PUBLIC CHARITABLE TRUST,AHMEDABAD vs. CIT(EXEMPTION), AHMEDABAD

The brief facts of the case are that the assessee had filed an application in Form No. 10AB for renewal of registration u/s. 12A(1)(ac)(ii) of the Act. The Ld. CIT(E) had called for certain details from the assessee

The following grounds have been taken by the assessee in this appeal:

Shri R B Tank, the Ld. AR of the assessee submitted that Ld. CIT(E) had allowed only one opportunity of hearing on 18.12.2025. The notice was sent on the email but the trustees of the assessee trust, who were not conversant with the online proceedings, couldn’t respond to the said notice. The Ld. AR explained that the assessee had enclosed all the relevant information along with Form No. 10AB, which was not considered by the Ld. CIT(E). He requested that the assessee may be allowed

Per contra, Shri R P Rastogi, the Ld. CIT-DR, supported the order of Ld. CIT(E). He, however, had no objection if the matter was set aside the file of the Ld. CIT(E) for allowing another opportunity to the assessee.

We have carefully considered the facts of the case and the material available on record. It is observed that the application of the assessee- trust for registration under section 12A(1)(ac)(ii) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 came to be rejected by the Ld. CIT(E) primarily on account of non- compliance with the notice issued seeking certain documents and clarifications. From the records, it is evident that only one effective opportunity was granted to the assessee. The interest of natural justice cannot be served by rejecting the application of the assessee by allowing only one opportunity. Though the Ld. CIT(E) has mentioned in the order that notices were issued from time of time, we don’t find reference of any notice other than the notice dated 18.12.2025. Considering that the assessee is a charitable trust seeking registration under the provisions of the Act and that the issue relates to the examination of its objects and activities, we are of the considered view that one more opportunity deserves to be afforded to the assessee to place the requisite material before the Ld. CIT(E). The principles of natural justice require that a reasonable and effective opportunity of being heard be granted before an adverse decision is taken. In the facts and circumstances of the present case, and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the application, we deem it appropriate, in the interest of justice, to set aside the impugned order and restore the matter to the file of the Ld. CIT(E) for fresh

In the result, the appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical purpose.