Wrong clause in registration application is a curable defect; application may be treated under the correct provision and reconsidered.

An inadvertent wrong clause or section code in Form 10AB should not, by itself, justify rejection of a registration application where the mistake is curable and no adverse finding on merits has been recorded. The Tribunal treated the typographical error as rectifiable, relied on a co-ordinate Bench view and a CBDT circular recognising such coding mistakes as common, and directed that the application be considered under the correct provision. The matter was remitted for fresh adjudication after giving the assessee an opportunity to support the claim.

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Issues: Whether an application for registration rejected for quoting the wrong clause in Form 10AB could be treated as an application under the correct clause, and whether the matter should be remitted for fresh consideration.

Analysis: The assessee had applied for registration under the wrong sub-clause due to an inadvertent typographical error. The rejection was based solely on the wrong code mentioned in the application, without any adverse finding on the merits of the claim. The Tribunal relied on a co-ordinate Bench decision treating such a mistake as curable and also noted the CBDT circular addressing wrong section-code errors as a common and frequent mistake. In these circumstances, the matter required reconsideration after treating the application under the correct clause and giving the assessee an opportunity to support its claim.

Conclusion: The rejection order was set aside and the application was directed to be treated as filed under the correct provision, with fresh adjudication by the jurisdictional authority. The relief was thus granted in part to the assessee, and the appeal was allowed for statistical purposes.

Final Conclusion: A technical error in mentioning the wrong clause in the registration application was held to be rectifiable, warranting remand for fresh consideration on merits.

Ratio Decidendi: A registration application should not be rejected merely for an inadvertent wrong clause or section code where the mistake is curable and no adverse finding on merits has been recorded; the application can be treated under the correct provision and reconsidered afresh.

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