ALMADARASATHUN NISWANUL FAIZUL BARAKATH TRUST,CHENNAI vs. CIT (EXEMPTIONS), CHENNAI

This appeal filed by the assessee is directed against the order of the ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions), Chennai, dated 12.02.2018 passed under section 12AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961[“Act” in short] rejecting grant of registration.

The assessee, constituted by a trust deed dated 20.03.2006, filed an application in Form 10A for registration under section 12AA of the Act on 21.08.2017. While processing the application, the assessee trust was requested to furnish clarification/explanation. Since there was no response

By referring to the grounds of appeal, the ld. Counsel for the assessee has submitted that the activities of the trust are carried out in a town – Cumbum near Madurai where a full-fledged office is run and the registered office in Chennai has only one employee who was on leave between 15.01.2018 and 15.02.2018 due to ill health, thereby, the letters calling for details were not received by the assessee and not served on them. Thus, the assessee was prevented by reasonable cause in not complying with the letters issued by the ld. CIT(E) and prayed that the assessee may be given one more opportunity of being heard to present the details required for processing the application for grant of registration. To this plea, the ld. DR did not seriously object. Being so, as the assessee was prevented by reasonable cause in not complying with the letters calling for details, we direct the ld. CIT(E) to give one more opportunity of being heard to the assessee and decide the application filed for grant of registration under section 12AA of the Act.

In the result, the appeal filed by the assessee is allowed for statistical purposes. Order pronounced on the 31st day of October, 2018, in Chennai.