S. 11 : Property held for charitable purposes-Registration granted during pendency of appellate proceedings-Benefit of exemption under sections 11 and 12 available for earlier assessment year-Matter remanded to Assessing Officer. [S. 12, 12AA, 250]
The assessee-trust claimed exemption under sections 11 and 12. The Assessing Officer denied the claim on the ground that registration under section 12A had not been granted. During the pendency of the appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals), registration under section 12A was granted to the assessee. However, the Commissioner (Appeals) upheld the disallowance on the ground that the registration was effective from A.Y. 2020-21 and not for the year under consideration, viz., A.Y. 2019-20. On appeal, the Tribunal held that the benefit of registration granted during the pendency of appellate proceedings cannot be denied merely because the assessment order had already been passed. Following the decisions in United Education Society, Krishnabai Ghat Trust and CIT (E) v. Shri Ram Mandir Committee (Raj.), the Tribunal held that appellate proceedings are a continuation of assessment proceedings and the benefit of sections 11 and 12 can be extended where registration is granted during the pendency of the appeal, subject to fulfilment of the statutory conditions. The matter was remanded to the Assessing Officer to verify the assessee’s claim and grant exemption under sections 11 and 12 in accordance with law after considering the registration granted during the pendency of the appellate proceedings. (ITA No. 1278/Mum/2026, dt.29-7-2026. )( AY. 2019-20.)
Pujya Sindhi Panchayat Trust v. ITO (E) (Mum.) (Trib.) www.itatonline.org
[Coram : Hon’ble Shri Narender Kumar Choudhry, JM and Hon’ble Makarand Vasant Mahadeokar, AM]