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Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, DIVISION BENCH, ‘A’ CHANDIGARH
Before: SHRI A.D.JAIN & SHRI KRINWANT SAHAY
आदेश/ORDER
PER A.D.JAIN, VICE PRESIDENT
The present appeal has been preferred by the assessee against the order passed by the ld.
1. Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions) Chandigarh [in short ‘the CIT(Exemptions)]’ dated 12.03.2024 pertaining to 2023-24 assessment year.
The assessee in this appeal has raised the following ITA 372/CHD/2024 A.Y. 2023-24 2 grounds of appeal :
That the rejection order passed in Form 10AD dated 12.03.2024 By CIT (Exemptions) Chandigarh is Arbitrary, Unjust and Illegal.
2. The applicant assessee has filed Form No. 10AB on 30.09.2023 seeking registration under sub clause (iii) of clause (ac) of sub section (1) of section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. A questionnaire was issued by department on 14.11.2023 requesting the appellant to submit required documents/details online alongwith supporting documents/evidences point- wise in the sequence by 29.11.2023. In response thereto, the appellant has submitted its reply which contains all the required documents/information along with all necessary documentary evidences. The department rejected the application on the basis that the application for registration u/s 12AA and 12A has already been rejected in the past vide this office orders dated 31.05.2019 and 22.09.2022 stating that there is no change in the Aims and Objectives of the Trust and nature of activities has not changed and hence the present application filed by appellant is not maintainable in view of past rejections
The facts of the case are that the assessee filed application in Form No. 10AB on 30.09.2023 seeking registration under sub-clause (iii) of clause (ac) of sub- Section (1) of Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Thereafter, in order to examine and verify the objects of the Trust, and genuineness of the activities and compliance with such requirements of any other law etc., a questionnaire was issued electronically on 14.11.2023 to furnish the required supporting documents/evidence online through e-filing portal by 29.11.2023. In response, the assessee submitted its reply alongwith supporting documents/evidences. After considering the ITA 372/CHD/2024 A.Y. 2023-24 3 reply of the assessee, the ld. CIT (Exemptions) rejected the application of the assessee as not maintainable holding that assessee's applications were rejected earlier and there were no changes in the aims and objectives of the Trust and its activities. The relevant findings of the ld. CIT (Exemptions) are reproduced hereunder :
“4. The documents submitted by the applicant and record of the department have been perused. It is noticed that the application for registration u/s 12AA and 12A has already been rejected in the past vide this office orders dated 31.05.2019 and 22.09.2022. Since there is no change in the Aims and Objectives of the trust and nature of activities has not changed, the present applicant filed by the application is not maintainable in view of the past rejections.
5. In view of the above discussions, the present application of the assessee filed in Form 10AB under section 12A(1)(ac)(iii) of the Act is disposed of as application has already been rejected earlier. Accordingly the application filed by the applicant for registration u/s 12A(1)(ac)(iii) of the Act is hereby rejected, which would also supersede any registration granted u/s 12AB or 12AA of the Act by any authority at any earlier time.”
3. Aggrieved, the assessee is in appeal before this Tribunal. The ld. Counsel for the assessee has stated that during the course of proceedings, the assessee had furnished all necessary documentary evidence demonstrating compliance with statutory requirements for availing exemption under Section 11 and 12.
However, the ld. CIT (E) rejected the registration application without considering the assessee's
ITA 372/CHD/2024 A.Y. 2023-24 4 submissions and documentary evidence. The ld. Counsel for the assessee has argued that the ld. CIT (E) has dismissed the application for registration, on the basis that an earlier application filed by the assessee for registration had also been rejected. In this regard, the ld. Counsel for the assessee has placed reliance on the order dated 25.03.2022, of the Chandigarh Bench of the Tribunal in ‘Gayatri Parivar Trust Bhoranj V CIT (E)’, ITA No. 71/CHD/2020.
We have heard the parties and have perused the material on record. We do not find ourselves in agreement with the observation of the ld. CIT (E) that since the application earlier filed by the assessee for registration stands rejected, the application under consideration could also not be allowed. We find that the registration provisions of the Act nowhere bar the filing of more than one application for registration, particularly where the earlier application stands rejected. There can be cases, and there have been multiple cases, day in and day out, where the assessee, for various reasons, applies for registration repeatedly,
ITA 372/CHD/2024 A.Y. 2023-24 5 where earlier applications have been rejected. Reliance in this regard has rightly been placed on ‘Gayatri Parivar Trust Bhoranj V The CIT (Exemptions), Chandigarh’, order dated 25.03.2022 passed by the Chandigarh Bench of the Tribunal for assessment year 2019-20, in ITA No.
71/CHD/2020. Therein, dealing with denial of grant of approval under Section 80G of the Act, the Tribunal held, inter-alia, that the observations of the ld. CIT (E) to the effect that the assessee did not prefer any appeal against the earlier orders rejecting the approval, did not hold good, since, it was the assessee's choice, whether to file an appeal against the rejection of its application, or to file a fresh application. Undeniably, the position in the present case, is in parimateria with that in the Tribunal in ‘Gayatri Parivar Trust Bhoranj V the CIT (Exemptions), Chandigarh’, (supra). No decision contrary to ‘Gayatri Parivar Trust Bhoranj V the CIT (Exemptions), Chandigarh’, (supra) has been cited before us on behalf of the Department.
On the basis of the above, we hereby hold that the assessee is, by all means, eligible to file an application for registration as per its choice, i.e., in the facts of the ITA 372/CHD/2024 A.Y. 2023-24 6 present case, where the earlier application stands rejected. The finding of the ld. CIT (E) qua this issue, is therefore, set aside.
Therefore, the application filed by the assessee on 30.09.2023 is hereby revived. Since the ld. CIT (E) has not expressed any opinion on the registration part, the matter is remitted to the ld. CIT (E) to consider and decide the application in accordance with law, affording due and adequate opportunity of hearing to the assessee.
The ld. CIT(E), no doubt, shall decide the application in a reasonable period of time, preferably within a period of three months from the date of receipt of this order.
Ordered accordingly.
In the result, for statistical purposes, the appeal of the assessee is treated as allowed.
Order pronounced on 17.10.2024.