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TMI Blog2025 (4) TMI 1078X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mption), Ahmedabad has erred in law and on facts in rejecting the application of appellant for registration u/s 80G(5)(iii) of the I.T. Act. 2. Ld. CIT(Exemption), Ahmedabad has erred in law and on facts in concluding that the object no. 7 & 8 as mentioned in the trust deed are of religious nature. 3. Ld. CIT(Exemption), Ahmedabad has erred in law and on facts in not properly appreciating the provisions contained under sub-section (5B) to Section 80G of the I.T. Act which resulted in rejection of application of registration of appellant trust u/s 80G(5)(iii) of the I.T. Act. 4. The Appellant craves leave to add, amend and modify all or any ground of appeal on or before the date of hearing." 3. At the outset, we observe that the appea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rs, any subsequent withdrawal of approval could harm the interests of donors who made donations in good faith, believing the institution was compliant with the provisions. Ld. CIT(E) was of the view that sub-section (5B) of Section 80G of the Act provides details on how much of the trust's expenditure can be of a religious nature while still fulfilling charitable activities. However, this does not allow for religious objects to be included in the institution's goals. Therefore, for an institution to be approved under Section 80G(5), all of its objects must be charitable, and none can be religious in view of Explanation 3 to Section 80G. It would be incorrect to assume that Subsection (5B) overrides Section 80G(5). Instead, Sub-section ( ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... racter, wisdom, selfless action, and respect for others, particularly among children and youth, who are the future of society. Therefore, these activities should be viewed as charitable rather than religious. The assessee further submitted that the rejection of registration based on these objects being religious is incorrect, as they do not exclusively serve religious purposes but promote general societal welfare. In support of this, the counsel for the assessee placed reliance on the decision in the case of Shirmoni Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee v. Commissioner of Income-tax, where the Tribunal held that activities promoting societal welfare, such as education and medical care, could qualify for Section 80G registration even if tied to rel ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s and expenditure on religious activities does not exceed the 5% threshold limit as envisaged in section 80G(5) of the Act. 6. In response, Ld. Departmental Representative placed reliance on the observations made by Ld. CIT(E) in the order rejecting grant of registration under section 80G(5) of the Act. 7. We have heard the rival contentions and perused the material on record. 8. It would be useful to reproduce the relevant extracts of the Section 80G(5) which states that this section applies to donation to any institution or fund only if it is established in India for a "charitable purposes". Explanation 3 to Section 80G states that the term "charitable purpose" does not include any purpose the whole or substantially the whole of which ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... arily rejected the application filed by the assessee/applicant trust. In fact, Ld. CIT(E), while rejecting the application for grant of registration under Section 80G of the Act has not dealt with any of the submissions / contentions of the assessee / applicant trust submitted during the course of hearing, which in our view is against the principles of natural justice. 10. In the case of Shree Sahajanand Gaushala Trust vs. Commissioner of Income-tax (Exemption) [2024] 161 taxmann.com 591 (Rajkot - Trib.)[28-02-2024], ITAT held that where Commissioner (Exemption) rejected assessee's application for registration under section 80G(5) on ground that assessee had incurred certain expenses which were religious in nature, however, Commissione ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ration by Ld. CIT(E) while dismissing the application of for grant of registration under section 80G(5) of the Act. Further, the assessee had also specifically submitted that it's expenditure on religious activities was within the threshold limit of 5% as specified under section 80G(5) of the Act, however Ld. CIT(E) did not call for the necessary details with regards to expenditure incurred by the assessee on religious purposes to ascertain whether the expenditure incurred by the assessee was falling within the 5% exemption limit provided under section 80G(5) of the Act. In light of the above observations, the matter is restored to the file of Ld. CIT(E) to consider the grant of registration under Section 80G of the Act afresh and to carry ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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