SAISHAM BAHUUDHESHIYA SANSTHA DHULE,DHULE vs. ITO EXEMPTION WARD 2, NASHIK, NASHIK

This is an appeal filed by the appellant directed against the order of National Faceless Appeal Centre, Delhi dated 29.04.2024 for the assessment year 2012-13.

Briefly, the facts of the case are that the appellant is a Trust incorporated with the object of providing Educational Facilities to the Children of the Society which includes pre-primary education, professional education, training programmes, providing medical and financial aid to poor, providing computer training programmes, technical education courses etc. The Return of Income for the A.Y. 2012-13 was filed on 29.06.2012 declaring Nil income. Against the said return of income, the assessment was completed by the AO vide order dated 04.02.2015 passed u/s.143(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter also called ‘the Act’). While doing so, the AO brought to tax the donations of Rs.2,25,750/- received during the previous year relevant to the assessment year under consideration. Subsequently, the AO passed rectification of the assessment order vide order dated 30.12.2016 u/s.154 of the Act treating the donations as anonymous donations and brought to tax the same under the provisions of section 115BBC of the Act. The AO further noted that appellant trust is neither registered u/s.12A nor exempted u/s.80G.

Being aggrieved by the above order passed u/s.154, appellant trust filed an appeal before the CIT(A)/NFAC who vide impugned order confirmed the action of the AO.

Being aggrieved, the appellant trust is in appeal before the Tribunal in the present appeal.

When the appeal was called on, none appeared on behalf of the appellant trust despite due service of notice of hearing. I therefore proceed to dispose of the appeal after hearing the ld. Departmental Representative.

The ld. Sr. DR submits that in the absence of details filed by the appellant trust, such as names, addresses & PAN of the donors, the AO was justified in treating the entire donations as anonymous donations applying the provisions of section 115BBC of the Act.

I heard the ld. Sr. DR and perused the material on record. The solitary issue that arises for my consideration is whether or not the AO was justified in treating the donations of Rs.2,25,750/- as anonymous donations applying the provisions of section 115BBC of the Act. The issue of taxability of the donations of Rs.2,25,750/- is not under challenge. The only issue that was raised in the present appeal is challenging the applicability of section 115BBC of the Act to the donations received. On mere perusal of the assessment order, it would reveal that the appellant trust had merely provided the names of the persons who made donations to the appellant trust. No details were filed establishing the identity, creditworthiness of the donors and the genuineness of the transactions. In the circumstances, I am of the considered opinion that the AO had rightly assessed the income u/s.115BBC of the Act by invoking the provisions of section 154 of the Act. I do not see any reasons to interfere with the order passed by the CIT(A)/NFAC, accordingly the appeal filed by the appellant trust stands dismissed.

In the result, the appeal filed by the appellant trust is dismissed.