Successful Appeal Grants Registration to Assessee Trust under Section 80G(5) of Income Tax Act

The appeal by the Assessee trust against the rejection of registration under section 80G(5) of the Income Tax Act by the Ld. CIT(E) was successful. The ITAT set aside the rejection, directing the grant of registration to the trust. The decision highlighted the significance of adhering to judicial directions, specifically referencing a prior ITAT order in favor of the Assessee trust. The appeal was allowed for statistical purposes, emphasizing the importance of considering previous judicial directives in similar cases.

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Issues:
- Rejection of registration under section 80G(5) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 by the Learned Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption), Lucknow.
- Failure to consider the already granted registration under section 12AA.
- Allegations of refusal based on the failure to appear or seek adjournment.

Analysis:
(A) The appeal was filed by the Assessee trust against the order of the Ld. CIT(E) rejecting the registration under section 80G(5) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The grounds of appeal included contentions that the rejection was erroneous, especially in light of a previous direction from the ITAT to grant registration. Additionally, it was argued that the Ld. CIT(E) failed to consider the fact that registration under section 12AA had already been granted. The refusal to grant registration was also challenged on the basis that the assessee had filed an application seeking adjournment, which was allegedly ignored.

(B) During the appellate proceedings in the ITAT, the assessee submitted a detailed paper book containing various documents, including the trust deed, form No.10G, orders of the ITAT and CIT(Exemption), as well as correspondence with the authorities. The Ld. Counsel for the assessee referred to a previous order dated 13.01.2016 of the ITAT directing the grant of registration under section 80G to the assessee trust. The Ld. CIT-DR representing the Revenue could not justify the rejection of the application in light of the specific direction from the ITAT. Given the lack of new evidence or arguments to counter the previous ITAT order, the impugned order of the Ld. CIT(E) was set aside, and directions were issued to grant registration under section 80G(5) to the assessee trust.

(C) Consequently, the appeal filed by the assessee was allowed for statistical purposes, and the order was pronounced in open court on 12.05.2022. The decision was based on the precedence set by the previous order of the ITAT, emphasizing the importance of following judicial directions in such matters.

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