Appeal allowed for anonymous donations under Income-tax Act 115BBC for AY 2017-18. Clarification on donor address exemption.

The appeal against the addition of anonymous donations under section 115BBC of the Income-tax Act for the assessment year 2017-18 was allowed for statistical purposes. The delay in filing the appeal was condoned, and the case was admitted for disposal on merits. The judgment clarified that only donations lacking donor addresses, as per the provided list, fall under section 115BBC, while others are eligible for exemption under section 11(1)(d). The matter was remitted to the Assessing Officer for proper examination based on the list of corpus donors without addresses.

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Issues:
Appeal against addition of anonymous donations under section 115BBC of the Income-tax Act for the assessment year 2017-18.

Analysis:
1. The appeal was time-barred by 10 days, but the delay was condoned as the revenue did not object, and the appeal was admitted for disposal on merits.
2. All grounds raised by the assessee were against the confirmation of the addition of Rs.29,32,750 made towards anonymous donations and taxing them under section 115BBC of the Act.
3. The Assessing Officer (AO) observed corpus donations in the audit report, leading to the addition of Rs.32,26,560. The AO accepted the genuineness of some donations but added Rs.29.32 lakh. The CIT(A) upheld the assessment order, prompting the appeal.
4. Section 2(24)(iia) includes voluntary contributions as income for charitable trusts. Section 11 exempts voluntary contributions forming part of the corpus. Section 115BBC taxes anonymous donations. The judgment clarifies that corpus donations are not exempt from section 115BBC if the identity of donors is not maintained.
5. The assessee maintained a register of corpus donations but failed to provide addresses for all donors. The AO issued notices to some donors but made additions for others without notices. The judgment directed the AO to consider only donations without donor addresses for taxation under section 115BBC.
6. The judgment concluded that only donations lacking donor addresses, as per the provided list, fall under section 115BBC, while others are eligible for exemption under section 11(1)(d).
7. The appeal was allowed for statistical purposes, and the matter was remitted to the AO for proper examination based on the provided list of corpus donors without addresses.
8. The order was pronounced in the Open Court on 16th December 2022.

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