Assessee sought approval to enable donors to claim a deduction under section 80G. It had earlier been granted provisional approval under clause (i) via Form No. 10AC, valid from Assessment Year 2022-23. On 30.06.2024, it filed an application in Form No. 10AB seeking approval under clause (iii). CIT(E) rejected the application without going into the merits, recording that an existing approval under clause (i) via Form No. 10AC was valid from Assessment Year 2022-23 and concluding that fresh application under clause (iii) was non-maintainable. On appeal the Tribunal held that on a plain reading of statutory provisions and Rule 11AA, assessee’s earlier approval in Form No. 10AC was provisional and was valid only for a limited period, and law specifically mandates that such provisional approval must be followed by a fresh application in Form No. 10AB for regular approval under clause (iii) once activities have commenced or before expiry of the provisional period. Therefore, the assessee’s application was both proper and maintainable under the scheme of the Act, and the reasoning of CIT(E) that the existence of provisional approval rendered the fresh application redundant was contrary to the intent and framework of the amended law. Further, since CIT(E) denied an effective opportunity to be heard to the assessee, it amounted to a violation of principles of natural justice. Accordingly, the order was set aside, and the matter was restored to the file of CIT(E), with a direction to examine the assessee’s application afresh on merits in accordance with law.