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2017 (3) TMI 975 - AT - Income TaxNon granting registration under section 12A(a) - non follow of proper procedure - Held that - Competent authority i.e. Principal Commissioner or Commissioner would call for the documents or information from the trust or institution in order to satisfy himself about the genuineness of activities of trust or institution. If he is satisfied about objects of trust or institution and genuineness of its activities, then he will pass an order in writing granting registration to such trust. A perusal of the letter dated 24.3.2014 vide which the ITO (Tech)-HQ has communicated the assessee about non-grant of registration to the assessee would indicate that no such procedure has been followed. It is highly deprecating that the competent authority has not passed any order and only an information is being sent to the assessee by an ITO. It is pertinent to observe that order for grant of registration or refusal is to be passed under the signature of ld.Commissioner or Pr.Commissioner. This procedure cannot be left to be conducted at the end of an ITO. He can only work for communication of the order or the notice. We have been informed that no other order has been passed. We assume that contents of this letter is an order passed by the competent authority, then also it is not discernible which objects of the trust deed has been analysed by the competent authority. At the stage of granting registration, there would not have been any expenditure incurred by an assessee, but objects contemplated under the trust deed are to be analysised. No such step has been taken by the competent authority in the present case. Therefore, the impugned order is not sustainable. We quash the letter dated 24.3.2014 written by the ITO (Tech.)-II, Surat on behalf of the Commissioner, and remand this issue to the file of the ld.Commissioner for re-adjudication of the controversy after providing due opportunity of hearing. - Decided in favour of assessee for statistical purpose.
Issues:
1. Grant of registration under section 12A(a) of the Income Tax Act. Analysis: The appellant, a trust formed to establish a school for tribal students, appealed against the rejection of registration under section 12A(a) of the Income Tax Act by the ld.CIT-II. The appellant contended that the ld.CIT erred in not granting registration. The trust, in response to the ITO's letter seeking details of activities and expenses, stated that it had not initiated any activities or incurred expenses towards the trust's objectives. The ITO subsequently rejected the registration application, stating that the trust did not meet the conditions under section 12AA. The tribunal noted that the procedure for granting registration involves the Commissioner calling for necessary documents to ascertain the genuineness of the trust's activities. However, in this case, the ITO communicated the rejection without a formal order from the competent authority. The tribunal found this procedure to be improper and remanded the issue for re-adjudication by the Commissioner after providing a proper opportunity of hearing. The tribunal emphasized that the order for registration or refusal should be passed by the competent authority, not by an ITO. Therefore, the appeal was allowed for statistical purposes. In conclusion, the tribunal highlighted the importance of following the prescribed procedure for granting registration under section 12AA of the Income Tax Act. The tribunal emphasized that the decision to grant or refuse registration should be made by the Commissioner after a thorough examination of the trust's activities and objectives. The tribunal found the communication of rejection by the ITO without a formal order from the competent authority to be improper and remanded the issue for proper adjudication. The tribunal stressed the need for due process and proper documentation in such matters to ensure fairness and compliance with the law.
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