MANDIR SHREE GOVIND DEV JI,JAIPUR vs. DCIT EXEMPTIONS, JAIPUR

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ITA 1291/JPR/2025Status: DisposedITAT Jaipur26 May 2026AY 2015-168 pages
AI SummaryAllowed

What did the Tribunal hold?

The Tribunal held that the assessee should be treated as duly registered under Section 12A based on its consistent acceptance in prior years, despite the missing certificate. The matter was restored to the AO to grant the exemption if otherwise eligible.

What were the facts?

The assessee, a religious trust, was denied exemption under Section 11 for AY 2015-16 because it could not produce its Section 12A registration certificate. The trust had a history of being accepted as registered under Section 12A in previous assessment years.

What were the issues?

Whether the denial of exemption under Section 11 is justified solely on the non-production of a Section 12A registration certificate when past assessments accepted the trust's registration.

Which sections of the Income-tax Act were involved?

Section 11,Section 12A,Section 250

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, JAIPUR BENCHES,“B” BENCH, JAIPUR

Before: SHRI SANJAY GARG & SHRI RATNESH NANDAN SAHAY

Hearing: 25.03.2026Pronounced: 26.05.2026

P a g e | 1 ITA No. 1291/JPR/2025 Mandir Shree Govind Dev Vs. DCIT (Exemptions) IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, JAIPUR BENCHES,“B” BENCH, JAIPUR BEFORE SHRI SANJAY GARG, JUDICIAL MEMBER & SHRI RATNESH NANDAN SAHAY, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER ITA No. 1291/JPR/2025 (Assessment Year:2015-16)

Mandir Shree Govind Dev Vs. DCIT (Exemptions) Ji, 1, JAI NIWAS BAGH, Jaipur, Rajasthan -302015 Jaipur, Rajasthan - 302003 �थायीलेखासं./जीआइआरसं./PAN/GIR No: AAAJM0053B Appellant .. Respondent

Appellant by : Sh. Rajeev Sogani, C.A. Respondent by : Sh. Gaurav Awasthi, JCIT

Date of Hearing 25.03.2026 Date of Pronouncement 26.05.2026

O R D E R Per Sanjay Garg, Judicial Member: The present appeal has been preferred by the assessee against the order of National Faceless Appeal Centre/Ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)(hereinafter referred to as “Ld. CIT(A)”) dated 25.07.2025 u/s 250 of the Income Tax Act,1961 (hereinafter referred to as “Act”). 2. The assessee has taken the following grounds of appeal: “1. That the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) has erred in dismissing various grounds of appeal taken before him without discussing

P a g e | 2 ITA No. 1291/JPR/2025 Mandir Shree Govind Dev Vs. DCIT (Exemptions) the contentions raised in written submissions. The said action is illegal and unjustified. 2. That the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) has erred in holding that as appellant has been granted registration w.e.f 26.12.2017 the beneficial provisions of I.T. Act are not applicable prior to 26.12.17 period. The said finding has been given by disregarding the provision of sec 12A(2) & proviso thereof and is illegal and unjustified and without any basis. 3. That the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) has erred in ignoring the CBDT circular no. 1/2015 dated 21/1/2015 relied on by the assessee which provided that the benefit of registration under sec 12AA and the benefit of sec 11 & 12 shall be available in assessment proceedings for earlier assessment year which is pending before assessing officer on date of registration. The action of Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) is illegal and unjustified. 4. That on the facts and circumstances of the case and in law the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) has erred in denying claim of exemption of income u/s 11 & 12 of the Income Tax Act. The said action is illegal and justified. 5. That the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) has erred in not following the binding judgment of Jurisdictional Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court in case of CIT (Exemptions) v. Shree Shyam Mandir Committee while denying the benefit of registration of trust. The said action is illegal and justified. 6. That the learned Assessing officer has erred in holding that the trust cannot be allowed to claim additions in fixed assets as its application of income. The said action is illegal and unjustified. 7. That the learned Assessing Officer has erred in holding that the assessee is also not allowed to claim accumulation or set apart for specified purposes of Rs 25 lakhs and also amount accumulated or set apart of Rs. 73,37,678/-(i.e. 15% of total receipts). 8. That the learned Assessing Officer has erred in assessing the assessee trust in the status of AOP in place of a claim made by the assessee of being AOP(TRUST). The said action is illegal and unjustified.

P a g e | 3 ITA No. 1291/JPR/2025 Mandir Shree Govind Dev Vs. DCIT (Exemptions) 9. That the learned Assessing Officer has erred in completing the assessment at an income of Rs. 1,93,44,900/- by applying the provisions applicable to the assessment of AOP and the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) has erred in confirming the action of the Assessing Officer. The said action is illegal and unjustified.” 3. A perusal of the above grounds of appeal would reveal that the sole issue raised in this appeal is against the denial of deduction to the assessee - trust claimed u/s 11 of the Act on the ground that the assessee - trust has failed to produce on the file copy of the registration certificate u/s 12A of the Act as applicable for the assessment year under consideration.

4.

The brief facts of the case are that the assessee - trust is a Religious Trust which came into existence on 20.09.1972 and is registered with Devasthan Vibhag under Rajasthan Public Trust Act, 1956 vide Certificate No. 346 dated 20.09.1972. The assessee - trust is also recognized under section 80G(2)(b) as a place of public worship of renown throughout the state of Rajasthan vide Notification No. S.O. 819 Income Tax, Dated: 21.11.1980. During the course of assessment proceedings for Assessment Year 2015-16, Ld. Assessing Officer (in short, “the AO”) required the assessee-trust to file the Certificate of Registration under section 12A of the Act. Since the assessee-trust could not produce the said certificate u/s 12A of the Act, the AO denied the claim of deduction u/s 11 of the Act and thereby, made consequential additions. The Ld. CIT(A) confirmed the additions so made by the AO. Being aggrieved by the said order of the learned CIT(A), the assessee has come in Appeal before us.

5.

The Ld. Counsel for the assessee has submitted that the assessee-trust is an old trust having valid registration under section 12A and such registration has been accepted by the Department in earlier Assessment Years. He in this respect has

P a g e | 4 ITA No. 1291/JPR/2025 Mandir Shree Govind Dev Vs. DCIT (Exemptions) relied upon the following chart to submit that the assessee – trust has been accepted as a validly registered religious trust u/s 12A of the Act in the assessments carried out u/s 143(3) of the Act.

6.

The Ld. Counsel has further submitted thatall the above Assessment Orders have been passed during the period starting from A.Y. 1981-82 to A.Y. 2014- 15. The Orders have been passed by different Assessing Officers. Even in the Assessment Order for the A.Y. 1981-82, it has been specifically acknowledged at page 1 of the Order that "the certificate under section 12A(b) has been given". The Ld. Counsel has further submitted that the fact of registration having granted under section 12A has consistently been accepted, therefore, on account of misplacing the said certificate the benefit of section 11 should not be denied. He has further submitted that the assessee-trust, left with no option, applied for a fresh registration under section 12A on 22.09.2017, which has been granted to the assessee-trust, vide order dated 27.12.2017 of the Ld. CIT(E), Jaipur.

P a g e | 5 ITA No. 1291/JPR/2025 Mandir Shree Govind Dev Vs. DCIT (Exemptions)

7.

The Ld. D.R., on the other hand, has relied upon the findings of the lower Authorities.

8.

We have considered the rival contentions of the Ld. Representatives of the parties and gone through the records. In this case, the Ld. DR could not rebut the fact that the assessee-trust has consistently been accepted as a validly registered charitable/religious institution u/s 12A of the Act and having been granted the benefit of deduction u/s 11 of the Act. It is not the case of Id. Lower Authorities that after examining their own records they have come out with a fact that certificate was never granted to the assessee-trust. It is also an admitted fact that the assessee-trust is also recognized under section 80G(2)(b) as a place of public worship of renown throughout the state of Rajasthan vide Notification No. S.O. 819 Income Tax, Dated: 21.11.1980. Under somewhat similar circumstances, the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of “Maharishi Institute of Creative Intelligence U.P. Lucknow v. CIT (E), [2023] 454 ITR 533 (SC) has held as under:

"Taking into consideration that since 1987 from the date on which the assessee applied for registration under section 12A, the assessee continued to avail the benefit of exemption under section 12A at least-up to the assessment year 2007-08. The aforesaid is not disputed by the revenue. It is required to be noted that even post 1997 also the assessee continued to avail the exemption under section 12A on the basis of its registration in the year 1987.

In that view of the matter, the Assessing Officer was justified in granting the benefit of exemption under section 12A for the assessment year 2010-11. What was required to be considered was the relevant provision prevailing in the year 1987, namely, the day on

P a g e | 6 ITA No. 1291/JPR/2025 Mandir Shree Govind Dev Vs. DCIT (Exemptions) which the assessee applied for the registration. At the relevant time there was no requirement of issuance of any certificate of registration.

Be that as it may, the fact remains that for all these years after 1997 till the year 2007-08 when the assessee continued to avail the benefit of exemption solely on the basis of the registration in the year 1987 and it was never the case on behalf of the revenue and even the Commissioner that in the earlier years there was any certificate of registration or the registration was not granted. Even from the material on record, namely, a communication dated 3-6-2015 which was considered by the Tribunal, it is apparent that the assessee was granted registration on 22-9-1987. Therefore it cannot be said that there was no registration at all.

In view of the above, the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court is erroneous and is unsustainable and is accordingly quashed and set aside. The order passed by the Tribunal is hereby restored.

The present appeals are accordingly allowed to the aforesaid extent.”

9.

Further, the Co-ordinate Indore Bench of this Tribunal in the case of “Jain Shwetamber Murtipujak Sukrat Fund Kapda Committee v. CIT” in ITA No.849/Ind/2018 vide order dated 29.09.2020 has held as under: [ "13. We find that in the paper book running from page 1 to 123, in page 24 to 32 various assessment orders in the case of the assessee are placed. We find that for Assessment Year 1975-76 the assessment order u/s 143(3) of the Act was framed on 10.10.1977 and in the assessment order the Ld. A.O has accepted that the assessee is a charitable trust. For Assessment year 1974-75 dated 26.12.77 also shows that the department has accepted the assessee as a charitable trust and benefit u/s 11 has been allowed. Similar assessment orders have been framed for Assessment Year 1976-77 to Assessment Year 1983-84 u/s 143(3) of the Act and the department has consistently accepted that the

P a g e | 7 ITA No. 1291/JPR/2025 Mandir Shree Govind Dev Vs. DCIT (Exemptions) assessee trust is a charitable trust. Along with the copy of assessment order referred above assessee has also filed copies of computation of income and audit report as and where applicable.

14.

In our considered view all the documents are sufficient enough to prove that the claim of the assessee being registered u/s 12A of the Act is a charitable trust since 13.8.1973 has sufficient merit. Ld. Departmental Representative failed to rebut these facts. Therefore, there remains no dispute to the fact that the assessee trust was enjoying the benefit u/s12A of the Act as a charitable trust and other benefits available to the charitable trusts u/s 11 of the Act since it is running for charitable purpose.In these given facts and circumstances of the case, we are of the considered view that the assessee trust should be granted the registration u/s 12AA of the Act w.e.f. 13.8.1973 in place of the registration granted from assessment year 2019-20 onwards. Ld. CIT (Exemption) is directed to amend his order dated 20.8.2019 and issue a fresh order of registration certificate u/s 12AA of the Act effective from 13.8.1973 so that the assessee could claim the benefits of the provision of Section 11 & 12 of the Act as and where applicable for the preceding Assessment Years. Once Ld. CIT (Exemption) grants the registration certificate u/s 12AA of the Act w.e.f. 13.8.1973 the assessee shall have liberty to move application before Ld. A.O for rectification of the assessment orders for various Assessment Years in order to avail the benefit of Section 11 of the Act available for charitable trust registered u/s 12AA of the Act so that the Ld. A.O could decide accordingly for various assessment years wherein assessee have been denied the benefit of exemption u/s 11 of the Act. We thus allow the additional grounds raised by the assessee as per the terms indicated above.”

15.

In the result appeal of the assessee is allowed."

10.

Therefore, in view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case and in the light of the case laws, as discussed above, we hold that the assessee trust

P a g e | 8 ITA No. 1291/JPR/2025 Mandir Shree Govind Dev Vs. DCIT (Exemptions) was duly registered u/s 12A of the Act and, therefore, is entitled to claim the deduction u/s 11 of the Act up to 27.12.2017, i.e., the date when the Ld. CIT(E) has granted the fresh registration to the assessee-trust. The entitlement to claim deduction u/s 11 of the Act from 27.12.2017 will be in the light of the fresh certificate issued by CIT(E) dated 27.12.2017. With the above observations, the impugned order of the Ld. CIT(A) is set aside and the matter is restored to the file of the AO for assessment afresh, with the direction that the AO will treat the assessee as duly registered u/s 12A of the Act and grant the deduction claimed by the assessee u/s 11 of the Act, if the assessee, otherwise found entitled to.

11.

In the result, the appeal of the assessee is treated as allowed for statistical purposes. Order is pronounced under provision of Rule 34 of ITAT Rules, 1963 on 26/05/2026.

Sd/- Sd/- (Ratnesh Nandan Sahay) (Sanjay Garg) Accountant Member Judicial Member Dated 26.05.2026 DS, PS Copy forwarded to: 1. Appellant 2. Respondent 3. CIT 4. CIT(Appeals) 5. DR: ITAT By Order, Asst. Registrar ITAT, Jaipur

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