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Facts
The assessee, MRT No. 1 Charitable Trust, filed applications for registration under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act. Due to an inadvertent error in selecting the wrong clause for filing the application, their request for provisional and final registration was rejected by the CIT(E). This led to appeals before the Tribunal.
Held
The Tribunal condoned the delay in filing the appeal, acknowledging the bonafide reasons due to the complexities of transitioning between old and new tax regimes. The Tribunal decided to remand the matter back to the CIT(E) to consider the application as if it was filed under the correct clause, allowing for a 5-year registration.
Key Issues
Whether the assessee's inadvertent mistake in selecting the incorrect clause for filing an application under Section 80G warrants rejection, or if the matter should be remanded for fresh consideration under the correct clause due to bonafide reasons and complexities of the new regime.
Sections Cited
80G, 12AA
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Before: Shri S.S. Viswanethra Ravi & Shri Ratnesh Nandan Sahay
O R D E R
PER S.S. VISWANETHRA RAVI, JUDICIAL MEMBER:
filed by the assessee is directed against order dated 06.04.2022 passed by the ld. PCIT/CIT, Chennai in Form No. 10AC granting provisional approval under section 80G(5)(iv) and 80G(5)(iii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 [“Act” in short]. The appeal in filed by the assessee is directed against the order dated 09.06.2025 by the ld. CIT(Exemption), Chennai rejecting approval under section 80G(5)(iii) of the Act.
Both the appeals filed by the assessee involving common issue on an identical facts, with the consent of both the parties, we proceed to hear both the appeals together and pass consolidated order for the sake of convenience.
First, we shall take up appeal in for adjudication.
We find that this appeal is filed with a delay of 1103 days. The assessee filed a petition for condonation of delay in support of an affidavit stating the following reasons: The captioned appeal was e-filed in the Registry of the Appellate Tribunal on 07.07.2025 and the said appeal was notified by the Registry that the same has been filed beyond the limitation period by 1103 days. The delay in filing the appeal before the Bench was neither willful nor deliberate but due to circumstances beyond the control of the Petitioner/Appellant. The Appellant submits that the delay in filing the appeal is on account of the fact that the appellant had initially applied for provisional registration of 80G registration by wrongly filing an application under clause (iv) of section 80G(5) of the Act instead of clause (i) despite having the valid registration under the old regime leading to grant of registration under the new regime only for a period of three years i.e. (AY 2022-23 to AY 2024-25). In consequence to the above provisional registration granted by the competent authority, the appellant had applied for final registration under the new regime by selecting the dropdown under clause (iii) which application got rejected by CIT(E), Chennai vide order dated 09.06.2025 by treating such application as not maintainable / filed beyond the due date. The said rejection order is also simultaneously challenged in along with the present appeal.
The appellant being aggrieved by the recent rejection order and after noticing the mistake committed in the selection of wrong dropdown in the initial application filed in Form 10A and had resorted to file the present appeal with a prayer to treat the application filed in Form No.10A as an application filed under clause (i) for grant of final registration for assessment year 2022-23 to 2026-27. The main reason for delay in filing the appeal is on account of pursuing the procedure laid down for obtaining final registration in consequence to the provisional registration originally granted inasmuch as the grievance against the impugned order/provisional registration arises only upon the passing of the rejection order in treating the subsequent application as not maintainable. Therefore, the delay in filing the appeal is due to the complexities involved in understanding and implementing the provisions governing the transition of old regime to new regime which would constitute reasonable cause for admission of appeal for adjudication of issues on merits in the interest of justice.
Upon hearing both the parties and on examination of the said affidavit, we find the reasons stated by the assessee are bonafide, which really prevented in filing the appeal in time. Thus, the delay is condoned and admitted the appeal for adjudication.
When the appeal was taken up for hearing, the ld. AR Shri N. Arjun Raj, Advocate submits that the assessee had initially applied for provisional registration of 80G registration by wrongly filing an application under clause (iv) of section 80G(5) of the Act instead of clause (i) despite having the valid registration under the old regime leading to grant of registration under the new regime only for a period of three years i.e. (AY 2022-23 to AY 2024-25). In consequence to the above provisional registration granted by the competent authority, the assessee had applied for final registration under the new regime by selecting the dropdown under clause (iii) which application got rejected by CIT(E), Chennai vide order dated 09.06.2025 by treating such application as not maintainable / filed beyond the due date. Thus, the ld. AR prayed to treat the application filed in Form No.10A as an application filed under clause (i) for grant of final registration for assessment year 2022-23 to 2026-27.
The ld. DR Ms. E. Pavuna Sundari, CIT fairly conceded that the matter may be remanded to the file of the ld. CIT(Exemption) for fresh consideration.
Having heard both the parties and on perusal of the material available on record, we note that the assessee Trust incorporated in 11.12.2006, possessing valid registration under section 12AA of the Act dated 31.01.2008. After the insertion of new provisions for registration by the Finance Act, 2021, the assessee ought to have filed an application in Form 10A for approval under clause (i) of 1st proviso under section 80G(5) of the Act on or before the extended due date of 30.06.2024 for obtaining regular registration for 5 years. We note that the assessee inadvertently filed its application on Form 10A under clause (iv) of 1st proviso under section 80G(5) of the Act on 30.03.2022 for provisional registration. After processing the application in Form 10A, the ld. PCIT/CIT granted provisional registration in Form 10AC dated 06.04.2022 under clause (iv) of 1st proviso under section 80G(5) of the Act from 06.04.2022 to AY 2024-25 (3 years). Though the assessee had approval under section 80G of the Act even prior to insertion of new provisions for registration by the Finance Act, 2021 w.e.f. 01.04.2021, it only obtained a provisional registration due to its mistake of filing an application under clause (iv) instead of clause (i).
We note that vide e-filing acknowledgement No. 663433280291024 placed at page 24 of the paper book, the assessee filed an application in Form 10AB under clause (iii) of 1st proviso to section 80G of the Act on 29.10.2024 to extend its provisional registration. While processing this application, the ld. CIT(E) rejected the application vide order dated 09.06.2025. We find force in the argument of the ld. AR that the assessee is entitled to be registered for 5 years and merely for the reason that it had filed the application under incorrect clause, the same cannot be taken away. The same ratio has been held by the Coordinate Bench of this Tribunal in the case of Kaakkum Karangal v. ITO in ITA No. 1561/Chny/2023. As per the provisions of section 80G of the Act, the assessee being an old trust, it should have been filed an application under clause (i) only. Since clause (i) applies to the assessee, it could not have filed an application under clause (iv). Under the above facts and circumstances of the case, we deem it proper to remand the matter to the file of the ld. CIT(E) to consider the application filed on 06.04.2022 as an application filed for registration under section 80G under clause (i) of the 1st proviso and then grant registration to the assessee for 5 years, i.e., AY 2022-23 to AY 2026-27. Accordingly, the grounds raised by the assessee are allowed for statistical purposes.
I.T.A. No. 1934/Chny/2025
Since we have remanded the matter to the file of the ld. CIT(E) to consider afresh the application of the assessee filed in Form 10A dated 30.03.2022 as an application filed for registration under section 80G under clause (i) of the 1st proviso, the appeal filed against the order of the ld. CIT(E) dated 09.06.2025 becomes infructuous and dismissed accordingly.
In the result, the appeal filed by the assessee in is allowed for statistical purposes and the appeal in is dismissed.
Order pronounced on 23rd September, 2025 at Chennai.