2025 (2) TMI 570 - AT - Income Tax

Mistake apparent on record has occurred in the order of the Tribunal - trust had already been granted final registration while the assessee believed it had provisional registration and applied for final registration - whether the trust s registration u/s 12A was provisional or final? Assessee Trust was an existing charitable Trust u/s 12A before 01.04.2021 and the assessee had applied for fresh registration u/s 12A(1)(ac)(i) and fresh registration was granted on 06.04.2022 which was valid up to AY 2026-27. Assessee again applied for registration u/s 12A(1)(ac)(iii) which was rejected by the CIT (Exemptions) Kolkata observing that the registration of the assessee was valid till AY 2026-27 and there was no need to apply again. Assessee filed appeal before this Tribunal and the Tribunal set aside the order of ld. CIT (Exemption) and held that there was no bar in moving the application for final registration and restored the matter to ld. CIT (Exemption) to consider the application of the assessee for final registration HELD THAT - Where due to technical glitches Form No. 10AC has been issued during FY 2021- 2022 with the heading Order for provisional registration or Order for provisional approval instead of Order for registration or Order for approval then all such Form No. 10AC shall be considered as an Order for registration or approval and in such cases where Form No. 10AC has been issued. Therefore all registrations issued by CPC Bengaluru under sub-clause (i) of section 12AC(1) would be construed as if granted for regular purposes. Department has come with Miscellaneous Application stating therein that the observation of this Tribunal is based on incorrect assumption of facts and that the Tribunal has assumed that the assessee has been granted provisional registration whereas the registration granted to the assessee earlier vide order dated 03.07.2020 was a regular/final registration. As noted above the aforesaid observation of the Tribunal was on account of the aforesaid confusion created on account of incorrect mention in the relevant columns of Form 10AC stating the said order to be a provisional order. The said confusion stood clarified by the CBDT under circular No. 11 of l2022 (supra) vide which it has been clarified that the provisional registration will be construed as regular registration u/s 12A(1)(ac)(i) read with Section 12AB(1)(a) of the Act. Therefore there was no requirement of setting aside this matter to the file of the ld. CIT (Exemption). Therefore under these circumstances an inadvertent error apparent on record has occurred in the order of the Tribunal because of not bringing the aforesaid developments before this Tribunal. Therefore the impugned order of the Tribunal 2024 (1) TMI 1437 - ITAT KOLKATA is hereby recalled.

Summary

The Appellate Tribunal considered a case where the Department filed a Miscellaneous Application claiming a mistake apparent on record in the Tribunal's order dated 09.01.2024. The issue revolved around the registration of a charitable Trust under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Department argued that the Trust had already obtained final registration, while the Trust believed it had provisional registration and applied for final registration under Section 12A(1)(ac)(iii) of the Act.The Tribunal found that the Trust was initially registered under Section 12A of the Act and subsequently applied for fresh registration under Section 12A(1)(ac)(i) of the Act, which was granted as provisional registration. Despite the Trust's belief that it needed final registration, the Tribunal noted that the certificate clearly indicated provisional registration. The Tribunal had previously directed the CIT (Exemption) to consider the Trust's application for final registration.The Department referred to Circular No. 11 of 2022, which clarified that provisional registration should be construed as regular registration under Section 12A(1)(ac)(i) read with Section 12AB(1)(a) of the Act. The Department argued that the Tribunal's assumption of provisional registration was incorrect due to the clarification in the circular. Consequently, the Tribunal recalled its order dated 09.01.2024.In light of these developments, the Tribunal found that the Trust's appeal was not maintainable as it had already been granted final/regular registration, valid until AY 2026-27. The Tribunal dismissed the Trust's appeal as infructuous, emphasizing that the dismissal would not affect the registration granted earlier.In conclusion, the Department's Miscellaneous Application was allowed, and the Trust's appeal was dismissed. The Tribunal clarified the status of the Trust's registration and pronounced the order on 10th January 2025.