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Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, “A” BENCH, AHMEDABAD
Before: SHRI P.M. JAGTAP, VICE- & MS. SUCHITRA R. KAMBLE
आयकर अपीलीय अिधकरण आयकर अपीलीय अिधकरण, अहमदाबाद �यायपीठ आयकर अपीलीय अिधकरण आयकर अपीलीय अिधकरण अहमदाबाद �यायपीठ अहमदाबाद �यायपीठ ‘A’ अहमदाबाद। अहमदाबाद �यायपीठ अहमदाबाद। अहमदाबाद। अहमदाबाद। IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL “A” BENCH, AHMEDABAD ] ] BEFORE SHRI P.M. JAGTAP, VICE-PRESIDENT AND MS. SUCHITRA R. KAMBLE, JUDICIAL MEMBER ITA No. 2059/Ahd/2018 Assessment Year : --- Siddhanth Educational and Commissioner of Charitable Trust, Vs Income-tax (Exemptions), C/o. Sonegara Ashwinbhai J., Main Ahmedabad Road, Nr. Sudama darawaja, At. Sayla, Dist. Surendranagar-363430 PAN : AAOTS 8156 M अपीलाथ�/ (Appellant) �� यथ�/ (Respondent) Assessee by : None Revenue by : Shri Vijay Kumar Jaiswal, CIT-DR सुनवाई क� तार�ख/Date of Hearing : 30/06/2022 घोषणा क� तार�ख /Date of Pronouncement: 27/07/2022 आदेश/O R D E R PER P.M. JAGTAP, VICE-PRESIDENT : This appeal filed by the assessee is directed against the order of learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemptions), Ahmedabad dated 21.08.2018 passed ex-parte whereby he rejected the application filed by the assessee for approval under Section 12AA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (“the Act” in short).
The assessee, in the present case, is a Charitable Trust which filed an application for registration under Section 12AA of the Act with the Pri. CIT (Exemptions), Ahmedabad on 02.02.2018. Vide letter dated 10.04.2018, the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemptions), Ahmedabad required the assessee to furnish detailed note on the activities actually carried out by the assessee and also to file the following details and documents:-
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“1. Copy of Form No. 10- A duly signed. 2. Copy of PAN Card of the Trust 3. Copy of Certificate of Registration of Trust 4. Please give details of institution being run/proposed to be run by your trust. 5. Please furnish name and address of branches, if any. 6. Please state whether jurisdiction over the case vest with CIT(E), Ahmedabad with details of ward/circle where you are filing return of income. 7. Certified Copy of Trust deed /M.O.A., if it is not in English then certified English translation also. 8. Copy of PAN Card of Trustees with details of Circle/ Ward where they are filing Return of Income. You are also requested to file complete names, address of trusts who these trustees and their spouses are interested. The present sources of income should also be filed. 9. Please state whether area of operation of your activities mentioned in the deed? (Note: Area of operation should be within India) 10. Please submit List of main objects of the Trust and specify like religious, relief of the poor, education, medical relief, etc and any other objects of general public utility, if any. 11. Please clarify whether any of the objects is religious in nature?(Mention the number of the clause and page number of the deed.) 12. Please also clarify whether any of the objects is neither religious nor charitable? (Mention the number of the clause and page number of the deed?) 13. Please state whether the objects of the trust are for any particular caste, creed, religion or community. 14. Whether deed contains investment clause? If not, then furnish declaration u/s. 11(5) of the I.T. Act? 15. Please state whether deed contains Amendment/Alterations clause? (to be amended with the approval of CIT(exemption), Ahmedabad. 16. Please specify the clause in Trust deed regarding revocability or irrevocability. 17. Please state- whether deed contains utilization clause? (Specifying that the profits are to be used only for the objects of the trust.) 18. Please specify the clause in the Trust deed which says that beneficiaries would be without discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, religion or sex and not for specific individuals. 19. Please state any part of trust property or income is used or applied or ensures directly or indirectly for the benefit of any person specified u/s.13(3) of the IT Act? 20. In the case of Trust running education activities through School/College, please furnish complete details such as fee structure, number of students
ITA No. 2059/Ahd/2018 Siddhanth Educational & Charitable Trust Vs. CIT (Exemptions) AY : NA 3 study in various standards, details and bifurcation of grant received and fees and its utilization, details of students i.e. no. and name of students who have been given exemption from paying fees, etc., copy of attendance registers of students and other books of accounts for verification purpose, etc. 21. Copy of Bank Account since inception of Trust or last three years. Please give details of cash deposit if any during the period of 09.11.2016 to 31.12.2016. 22. Details of donations received or paid and confirmation/PAN of the donors. 23. Details of movable & immovable assets held as on date. 24. Please give details of premises of Trust whether premises owned by the Trust or Rented. Whether NOC from the premises owner is obtained or rental agreement is enclosed. 25. Please submit documentary evidences of actual charitable activities carried out by the Trust from the date of inception of Trust till date. 26. Whether registration u/s-12AA has been refused/rejected earlier? If so, state briefly the reasons for such refusal/rejection. 27. Please submit Copy of Audited Accounts like copy of receipt and payment A/c., Income & Expenditure A/c, Balance Sheet, for three years or from the date of creation till date, whichever is less. 28. Please give details as to how the Trust generates funds for achieving the object of Trust. 29. Please submit evidences that the corpus amount hits been transferred to the Trust/Institution. 30. Please specify that the Trust is in receipt of amounts mentioned in first proviso to Section 2(15) of the I.T. Act. 31. Copy of Certificate of Undertaking. 32. Copy of Certificate u/s. 13(1) (c) of the I.T. Act? 33. Further, it is seen that as per trust deed the dissolution clause is not proper/not there.”
The assessee-trust, however, neither appeared before the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemptions) on the given date nor furnished the required details and documents. Following the principle of natural justice, one more opportunity was given by the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemptions) to the assessee as final opportunity in order to comply with the requirements. The assessee, however, again failed to avail the said opportunity and comply with the requirements. The learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemptions), therefore, was left with no
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option but to dispose of the application of the assessee for registration under Section 12AA of the Act ex-parte to the best of his judgment on the basis of material available on record. He accordingly passed an order dated 21.08.2018 rejecting the application of the assessee for registration under Section 12AA of the Act for the following reasons given in paragraph No. 7 of the said order:-
“7. Perusal of records reveals that the applicant has neither carried out any charitable/religious activities nor established corpus to undertake the charitable activities. In spite of specific requisitions the applicant has not submitted the requisite details such as certified copy of trust deed duly stamped by charity commissioner, copies of bank statement since its inception, audited accounts like copy of income and expenditure accounts, receipts and payments accounts and balance sheet etc. for the last three years i. e FY 2014-15,2015-16 and 2016-17 and notes on activities being carried out by the trust with evidences. Therefore, in the absence of complete details/documents, it is not possible to verify the genuineness of the activities of the above trust or the same being carried out in accordance with the objects of the trust. Thus, the genuineness of the activities does not get established.
This clearly indicates that the applicant does not have intention even to start charitable/religious activities, Section 12AA makes it very dear that before granting registration under this section, the Commissioner has to satisfy himself about the genuineness of the activities of the trust or institution and also he has to verify that these activities are in consonance with the objects of the trust or institution. Reliance in this regard is placed on judgment delivered by the Hon. Supreme Court in the case of Commissioner of Income- tax, Ujjain Vs Dawoodi Bohara Jamat Civil Appeal No. 2492 of 2014. The facts considered in para 14 of the judgment by the Hon'ble Apex Court are reproduced for sake of convenience:-
“Section 12AA lays down the procedure to be followed by the Commissioner for grant or refusal of application for registration made under Section 12A. According to procedure so laid down, the Commissioner shall call for documents and information find conduct an enquiry to satisfy himself of the genuineness of the trust and upon reaching satisfaction of the charitable or religions nature of the objects and the authenticity of the activities of the trust he would grant registration. If
ITA No. 2059/Ahd/2018 Siddhanth Educational & Charitable Trust Vs. CIT (Exemptions) AY : NA 5 he is not satisfied of the aforesaid, the request made in the application may be declined.”
As discussed above, the applicant has failed to file documentary evidences to enable me to satisfy about the genuineness of its activities and to verify these activities are in consonance with its objects.”
Aggrieved by the order of learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemptions) rejecting its application for registration under Section 12AA of the Act, the assessee-trust has filed this appeal before the Tribunal on the following grounds:-
“1. The order u/s 12AA of the Income-tax Act passed by the Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemptions) is bad in law and deserves to be uncalled for.
The Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemptions) has erred in law and on facts in rejecting the application filed in form No.10A for approval u/s 12AA of Income-tax Act. The same may be granted.”
At the time of hearing fixed in this case on 30th June, 2022, none appeared on behalf of the assessee, nor any application seeking adjournment was filed. There was a similar non-compliance on the part of the assessee when this appeal was earlier fixed for hearing on 04.05.2020, 02.09.2020 and 28.04.2021. This appeal of the assessee is, therefore, being disposed of ex-parte after hearing the arguments of learned DR and perusing the relevant material available on record. It is observed that the details and documents required by the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemptions) in order to enable him to satisfy about the genuineness of the activities of the assessee-trust as well as the nature of its objects being charitable were not furnished by the assessee-trust inspite of adequate opportunity given by the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemptions), as rightly pointed out by the learned DR from the impugned order. Even before the Tribunal, the assessee has failed to furnish the said
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details & documents and has also failed to explain the reason for the non- compliance before the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemptions). Even the grounds raised by the assessee in its appeal do not throw any light on this vital aspect. We, therefore, find no justifiable reason to interfere with the impugned order of the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemptions) passed ex-parte rejecting the application of the assessee for registration under Section 12AA of the Act.
In the result, the appeal of the assessee is dismissed.
Order pronounced in the open Court on 27th July, 2022 at Ahmedabad.
Sd/- Sd/-
(SUCHITRA R. KAMBLE) (P.M. JAGTAP) JUDICIAL MEMBER VICE-PRESIDENT Ahmedabad, Dated 27/07/2022 *Bt आदेश क� ��त�ल�प अ�े�षत/Copy of the Order forwarded to : 1. अपीलाथ� / The Appellant 2. ��यथ� / The Respondent. 3. संबं�धत आयकर आयु�त / Concerned CIT 4. आयकर आयु�त ( अपील ) / The CIT(A)- 5. �वभागीय ��त�न�ध आयकर अपील�य अ�धकरण/DR,ITAT, Ahmedabad, , 6. गाड� फाईल /Guard file. आदेशानुसार/ BY ORDER, TRUE COPY सहायक पंजीकार (Asstt. Registrar) आयकर अपील�य अ�धकरण ITAT, Ahmedabad 1. Date of dictation- … …21.07.2022…five pages dictation pad attached … 2. Date on which the typed draft is placed before the Dictating Member …21.07.2022………… Other member.… …25.07.2022……. 3. Date on which the approved draft comes to the Sr.P.S./P.S. - …25.07.2022…………… 4. Date on which the fair order is placed before the Dictating Member for Pronouncement …27.07.2022. 5. Date on which the file goes to the Bench Clerk…27.07.2022.…………… 6. Date on which the file goes to the Head Clerk……………………………. 7. The date on which the file goes to the Assistant Registrar for signature on the order………………… 8. Date of Despatch of the Order………………