Tribunal holds Gur Aasra Trust was entitled to charitable registration and 80G approval after CIT(E) had granted Form 10AD

5-Second Takeaway

The Tribunal held that Gur Aasra Trust had been granted registration under section 12AB as a charitable trust, and the CIT(E) could not on the same day recast it as a religious-cum-charitable trust. It further noted that the consequent denial of approval under section 80G flowed from that later characterization.

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Chandigarh Division Bench, allowed the trust’s challenge to the Commissioner (Exemptions)’s twin orders dated 4 and 5 February 2026 for assessment year 2026-27. Gur Aasra Trust had sought registration under section 12AB and approval under section 80G. The record showed that the CIT(E), after examining the application and material, issued Form No. 10AD granting registration under section 12AB(1)(b), recorded the trust’s activities as “Charitable,” and granted registration for assessment years 2027-28 to 2036-37.

The Tribunal noted that the assessee had already enjoyed registration under the Act for many years, with no adverse finding by the Revenue regarding the genuineness of its activities. It also recorded that the trust had been in existence for more than two decades and was engaged in welfare activities for orphan children, destitute women, widows and elderly persons.

On the same date, however, the CIT(E) issued another communication seeking to rectify the earlier order and treating the assessee as a religious-cum-charitable trust. The Tribunal observed that this subsequent characterization formed the basis for denying approval under section 80G. In view of the earlier registration order already on record, the Tribunal held that the assessee was entitled to be treated as a charitable trust for the purposes of registration under section 12AB, and that the consequential denial of section 80G approval could not stand.