CHATURBHUJA MATA MAI SEVA TRUST,MUMBAI vs. CIT (EXEMPTIONS), MUMBAI

IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL “B” BENCH MUMBAI BEFORE SHRI SAKTIJIT DEY, VICE PRESIDENT & SHRI MAKARAND VASANT MAHADEOKAR, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER ITA No. 3867/Mum/2026 (Assessment Year: 2027-28) Chaturbhuja Mata Mai CIT(Exemptions) Seva Trust Room no. 601, MTNL Vs. 104-105, Ashima Kutir, Building, Pedder Road, Chincholi Link Road, Opp Cumballa Hill, Inorbit Mall, Malad West, Mumbai - 400026 Mumbai-400064, Maharashtra PAN/GIR No. AACTC6372R (Applicant) (Respondent) Assessee by Shri Subhash Kedia, Ld. AR Revenue by Shri Yogesh Kamat, Ld. DR Date of Hearing 25.06.2026 Date of Pronouncement 02.07.2026 आदेश / ORDER PER MAKARAND VASANT MAHADEOKAR, AM: This appeal by the assessee is directed against the order in Form No. 10AD dated 08.02.2026 passed by the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemptions), Mumbai, hereinafter referred to as “the learned CIT(E)”, whereby the application filed by the assessee in Form No. 10AB on 29.09.2025 under section 12A(1)(ac)(ii) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, hereinafter referred to

2 ITA No. 3867/Mum/2026 Chaturbhuja Mata Mai Seva Trust as “the Act”, seeking renewal of registration under section 12AB of the Act, was rejected.

3 ITA No. 3867/Mum/2026 Chaturbhuja Mata Mai Seva Trust 3. The assessee is a public charitable trust constituted under the provisions of the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950. The stated objects of the assessee include organising free medical camps with the assistance of doctors and child specialists, providing information and education concerning nutrition and hygiene, promoting equal opportunities for women and gender equality, establishing and managing old-age homes, providing community halls and establishing and running public libraries. According to the assessee, its objects fall within the limbs of education, medical relief and relief of the poor contemplated under section 2(15) of the Act. 4. The assessee was granted provisional registration under section 12AB in Form No. 10AC dated 27.05.2021 under sub- clause (vi) of clause (ac) of section 12A(1) of the Act. The provisional registration was allotted Registration No. AACTC6372RE20206 and was valid from assessment year 2021- 22 to assessment year 2023-24. The certificate records that the registration was granted after considering the application and the material available on record. Subsequently, the assessee was granted registration in Form No. 10AC dated 08.11.2021 under sub-clause (i) of clause (ac) of section 12A(1) of the Act, bearing Unique Registration No. AACTC6372RE20212. The said registration was valid from assessment year 2022-23 to assessment year 2026-27. 5. Since the aforesaid registration was due to expire at the end of assessment year 2026-27, the assessee filed Form No. 10AB on

4 ITA No. 3867/Mum/2026 Chaturbhuja Mata Mai Seva Trust 29.09.2025 under section 12A(1)(ac)(ii) of the Act seeking renewal of its registration under section 12AB. 6. The learned CIT(E), by notice dated 24.01.2026, fixed the matter for hearing on 30.01.2026 and called upon the assessee to furnish documents relating to its constitution, registration, charitable activities, financial statements, returns of income, expenditure, outstanding demands and pending legal proceedings. In response, the assessee filed its reply along with the trust deed containing the dissolution clause, registrations with the Registrar of Public Trusts and Darpan Portal, Form No. 10AC dated 08.11.2021, audited financial statements for assessment years 2022-23 to 2025-26, acknowledgements of returns and Form No. 10AB. The assessee also stated that there was no change requiring a report before the Charity Commissioner, no earlier rejection or cancellation proceeding, no outstanding tax demand and no pending proceeding under any other law. Details of expenditure incurred towards its charitable objects for the relevant assessment years and a note explaining the objects and activities of the trust were also furnished. 7. The learned CIT(E) noted that the assessee had been granted registration under section 12AB in Form No. 10AC dated 08.11.2021, valid from assessment year 2022-23 to assessment year 2026-27, but had not produced any registration certificate under section 12A or section 12AA pertaining to the period prior to 01.04.2021. Although the learned CIT(E) recognised that trusts without prior registration under the old regime were required to

5 ITA No. 3867/Mum/2026 Chaturbhuja Mata Mai Seva Trust seek provisional registration under section 12A(1)(ac)(vi), he nevertheless held that the assessee was required to establish registration under the old regime for renewal of its registration. On this basis, the registration dated 08.11.2021 was treated as invalid and the renewal application was rejected. The learned CIT(E) also made a general observation regarding amendment of the trust deed, without identifying any specific objectionable clause or statutory deficiency. Accordingly, the application was rejected by order dated 08.02.2026. 8. Before us, the learned Authorised Representative (AR) submitted that the learned CIT(E) had fundamentally misidentified the category of registration applicable to the assessee. It was submitted that the assessee had never held registration under the erstwhile section 12AA and had initially obtained provisional registration under section 12A(1)(ac)(vi) on 27.05.2021. Thereafter, registration in Form No. 10AC was granted on 08.11.2021 under section 12A(1)(ac)(i), bearing URN AACTC6372RE20212, valid from assessment year 2022-23 to assessment year 2026-27. 9. The learned AR submitted that the learned CIT(E), having himself recognised in paragraph 3.2 of the impugned order that trusts not possessing registration under section 12AA were required to obtain provisional registration under section 12A(1)(ac)(vi), could not thereafter require the assessee to produce a registration certificate under the old regime. It was contended that this resulted in an internal inconsistency in the

6 ITA No. 3867/Mum/2026 Chaturbhuja Mata Mai Seva Trust impugned order and that a requirement applicable to trusts registered under the erstwhile regime had wrongly been imposed upon the assessee. 10. It was further submitted that the registration in Form No. 10AC dated 08.11.2021 had remained in force and had never been cancelled or withdrawn by any competent authority. The learned CIT(E), while considering an application for renewal, could not collaterally declare the existing registration invalid. It was submitted that cancellation of registration was governed by a separate statutory procedure under section 12AB(4), which could not be substituted by proceedings for renewal of registration. 11. The learned AR also contended that the notice dated 24.01.2026 merely called for documents and did not put the assessee to notice that its existing registration was proposed to be treated as invalid. Thus, the precise ground ultimately adopted for rejection was not specifically confronted to the assessee. It was prayed that the impugned order be set aside and the learned CIT(E) be directed to grant renewal of registration after examining the application on its merits with reference to the objects, genuineness of activities and compliance with the applicable provisions of law. 12. The learned Departmental Representative relied upon the impugned order passed by the learned CIT(E). However, he did not raise any objection to the matter being restored to the file of the learned CIT(E) for fresh adjudication in accordance with law.

7 ITA No. 3867/Mum/2026 Chaturbhuja Mata Mai Seva Trust 13. We have considered the rival submissions and perused the material placed before us. The material facts are not in dispute. The assessee was granted provisional registration in Form No. 10AC dated 27.05.2021 under sub-clause (vi) of clause (ac) of section 12A(1), valid from assessment year 2021-22 to assessment year 2023-24. Thereafter, the competent authority granted registration to the assessee in Form No. 10AC dated 08.11.2021, bearing URN AACTC6372RE20212, under sub- clause (i) of clause (ac) of section 12A(1), valid from assessment year 2022-23 to assessment year 2026-27. The latter registration continued to remain in force and the impugned order does not refer to any order cancelling or withdrawing the same. 14. The learned CIT(E) has rejected the renewal application principally on the ground that the assessee failed to furnish a certificate of registration under section 12A or section 12AA held prior to 01.04.2021. However, the assessee’s consistent case is that it did not possess any registration under the old regime. The learned CIT(E) has himself observed in paragraph 3.2 that trusts which did not have any prior registration under section 12AA or approval under section 10(23C) were required to apply for provisional registration under sub-clause (vi) of clause (ac) of section 12A(1). The record demonstrates that provisional registration was, in fact, granted to the assessee under the said sub-clause on 27.05.2021. 15. In these circumstances, the absence of a registration certificate under the erstwhile section 12A or section 12AA could

8 ITA No. 3867/Mum/2026 Chaturbhuja Mata Mai Seva Trust not, by itself, constitute a valid basis for rejecting the assessee’s application for renewal. The existing registration dated 08.11.2021 was granted by the competent authority and remained operative during the relevant period. So long as the said registration had not been cancelled or withdrawn by following the procedure prescribed under the Act, it could not have been disregarded as non-existent in collateral proceedings concerning renewal. 16. We also find merit in the contention that the notice dated 24.01.2026 did not specifically inform the assessee that the validity of its registration dated 08.11.2021 was proposed to be questioned and that the renewal application was liable to be rejected on that basis. The notice called upon the assessee to furnish various documents, including the earlier registration under the old regime, but did not set out the proposed conclusion that the existing registration itself would be treated as invalid. The assessee was, therefore, not afforded an effective opportunity to address the precise ground ultimately adopted in the impugned order. 17. As regards the general observation in paragraph 4 of the impugned order concerning the alleged need to amend the trust deed or memorandum of association, we find that no particular defect in the trust deed has been identified. No clause has been held to be contrary to law and no specific amendment required to be made has been stated. On the contrary, the assessee had furnished the trust deed and specifically brought the dissolution

9 ITA No. 3867/Mum/2026 Chaturbhuja Mata Mai Seva Trust clause contained in clause 31 to the notice of the learned CIT(E). Therefore, the said general observation, unsupported by any specific factual finding, cannot constitute an independent ground for rejection. 18. Significantly, the learned CIT(E) has not recorded any adverse finding regarding the charitable nature of the objects of the assessee, the genuineness of its activities, the expenditure incurred towards its objects, the maintenance of accounts, the filing of returns of income, or compliance with any other law material for achieving its objects. No other specific statutory deficiency has been pointed out in the impugned order. The rejection rests substantially upon the non-production of a registration certificate under the old regime and the consequential conclusion that the registration dated 08.11.2021 was invalid. 19. In view of the foregoing, the impugned order dated 08.02.2026 is set aside and the application filed by the assessee in Form No. 10AB on 29.09.2025 is restored to the file of the learned CIT(E) for fresh adjudication. The learned CIT(E) shall not reject the application merely on the ground that the assessee did not possess registration under section 12A or section 12AA prior to 01.04.2021. The learned CIT(E) shall consider the existing registration in Form No. 10AC dated 08.11.2021 in accordance with law and shall examine the assessee’s eligibility for renewal with reference to the statutory requirements relating to its

10 ITA No. 3867/Mum/2026 Chaturbhuja Mata Mai Seva Trust objects, genuineness of activities and compliance with such other law as is material for achieving its objects.

Order pronounced in the open court on 02.07.2026.

Sd/- Sd/- (SAKTIJIT DEY) (MAKARAND VASANT MAHADEOKAR) VICE PRESIDENT ACCOUNTANT MEMBER Mumbai, Dated 02/07/2026 Dhananjay, Sr.PS आदेश की प्रतितिति अग्रेतिि/Copy of the Order forwarded to : 1. अपीलाथी / The Appellant 2. प्रत्यथी / The Respondent. संबंधधत आयकर आयुक्त / The CIT(A) 3.

11 ITA No. 3867/Mum/2026 Chaturbhuja Mata Mai Seva Trust आयकर आयुक्त(अपील) / Concerned CIT 4. धिभागीय प्रधतधनधध, आयकर अपीलीय अधधकरण, मुम्बई / DR, ITAT, Mumbai 5. गार्ड फाईल / Guard file. 6. आदेशानुसार/ BY ORDER, सत्याधपत प्रधत //True Copy// 1. उि/सहायक िंजीकार ( Asst. Registrar) आयकर अिीिीय अतिकरण, मुम्बई / ITAT, Mumbai