SHRI SHIRIDI SAI SEVA TRUST,HYDERABAD vs. ITO., EXEMPTION WARD-1(4), HYDERABAD

(निर्धारण वर्ा/Assessment Year:2025-26) Shri Shiridi Sai Seva Trust, Income Tax Officer (Exemption), Vs. Ward-1(4), Hyderabad. Hyderabad. PAN:AACTS3985J (Appellant) (Respondent) निर्धाररती द्वधरध/Assessee by: Shri B. Satyanarayana Murthy, C.A. रधजस् व द्वधरध/Revenue by:: Shri Narendra Kumar Naik, CIT-DR सुिवधई की तधरीख/Date of hearing: 04/08/2025 घोर्णध की तधरीख/Pronouncement: 06/08/2025 आदेश/ORDER PER MADHUSUDAN SAWDIA, A.M.: This appeal is filed by Shri Shiridi Sai Seva Trust (“the assessee”), feeling aggrieved by the order passed by the Learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption), Hyderabad (“Ld. CIT(E)”), dated 21.03.2025 for the A.Y. 2025-26.

3. The brief facts of the case are that, the assessee is a charitable trust which had been granted approval under section 12A of the Act vide order dated 01.03.1995. Consequent to the amendments introduced by the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020, effective from 01.04.2021, the assessee was required to re-apply for approval under section 12AB of the Act in Form No. 10A. In accordance with the requirement, the assessee filed Form No. 10A, but inadvertently selected the wrong section code i.e. section 12A(1)(ac)(vi) of the Act instead of the correct section code i.e. section 12A(1)(ac)(i) of the Act. Based on the said form, the assessee was granted provisional registration vide Form No. 10AC dated 07.04.2022. Subsequently, the assessee filed Form No. 10AB for conversion of provisional registration into final registration under section 12AB of the Act. However, the Ld. CIT(E) rejected the said application solely on the ground that the assessee had originally selected an incorrect section code while filing Form No. 10A.

4. Aggrieved by the rejection order of Ld. CIT(E) , the assessee is now in appeal before the Tribunal. The Learned Authorised Representative (“Ld. AR”) submitted that the assessee had been granted valid registration under section 12A of the Act since 01.03.1995 (page no.1 of the paper book). In light of the 2020 amendment, the assessee was required to re-apply through Form No. 10A. However, since the Form No. 10A was newly introduced at that point in time, there was widespread confusion among applicants, and as such, the assessee inadvertently selected section code i.e. section 12A(1)(ac)(vi) of the Act instead of the correct section code i.e. section 12A(1)(ac)(i) of the Act. It was also submitted that the mistake was a technical error and not deliberate or intentional. The Ld. AR argued that the Revenue was already aware of the assessee’s earlier approval under section 12A since 1995, and yet proceeded to issue a provisional registration under the wrong code. Therefore, the mistake, if any, was two-fold and not solely attributable to the assessee. It was further contended that the trust is engaged in genuine charitable activities and denial of approval merely on account of a technical coding error would be against the principles of justice. The Ld. AR relied on the settled judicial principle that procedural lapses should not defeat substantive rights, especially in the case of charitable institutions. Accordingly, he prayed for the matter to be remanded back to the file of the Ld. CIT(E) with a direction to allow the assessee one more opportunity to file the application in the correct section code and for adjudication of the same on merits.