Charitable registration applications filed in the wrong form cannot be rejected on a mere technical defect when renewal is otherwise timely sought.

Applications for provisional registration and approval under the amended charitable regime should not be rejected merely because they were filed in Form 10AB instead of Form 10A where the assessee was already registered and sought renewal within the permitted period. The procedural defect was treated as technical, and the rejection based solely on that error was not sustained. The applications were directed to be treated as filed in the prescribed form for institutions already registered on 01.04.2021 and processed on merits under section 12A(ac)(i) and the first proviso to section 80G(5) of the Income-tax Act, with provisional registration to be granted accordingly.

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Issues: Whether an application for provisional registration and approval could be treated as valid when filed in Form 10AB instead of Form 10A, and whether the resulting rejection by the Commissioner (Exemption) could be sustained.

Analysis: The amended regime for registration and approval of charitable institutions introduced complexity in the prescribed procedure. The assessee had already been registered earlier and had sought renewal within the permitted period, but the applications were filed in Form 10AB instead of Form 10A. The rejection rested only on this technical defect. In view of the amendment and the circular extending the filing period, the procedural lapse was held not to be a ground to deny consideration on merits, and the applications were directed to be treated as having been filed in the prescribed form applicable to institutions already registered on 01.04.2021.

Conclusion: The rejection was set aside, and the applications were to be processed as valid applications under section 12A(ac)(i) and the first proviso to section 80G(5) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, with provisional registration to be granted accordingly.

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