Section 80G(5) amendment allows post-commencement filing, and a technical time-bar cannot defeat eligibility review.

Under the amended section 80G(5) framework, an institution whose activities had already commenced could still file Form 10AB after commencement, and the earlier proviso's time-limit was not applied to bar the application in the manner adopted by the Commissioner. The assessee had submitted the relevant documents, and rejection solely on a technical limitation ground, without examining the remaining eligibility conditions, was unsustainable. The application was treated as filed within the statutory time, the time-bar rejection was set aside, and the Commissioner was directed to consider the assessee's eligibility in accordance with law after granting a hearing.

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Issues: Whether the assessee's application for approval under section 80G(5) was filed within the prescribed time limit after the amendment brought in by the Finance Act, 2024, and whether the rejection of the application as time-barred was sustainable.

Analysis: The amended framework under section 80G(5) was read as permitting an institution whose activities had already commenced to apply after commencement of such activities, and the time-limit in the earlier proviso was held not to control the assessee's application in the manner adopted by the Commissioner. The assessee had furnished the relevant documents, and the rejection was made only on the technical ground of limitation without examining the remaining eligibility conditions. On that construction, the application in Form 10AB was treated as having been filed within the statutory time and was held to be valid.

Conclusion: The rejection of the application as time-barred was set aside, and the Commissioner was directed to treat the application as filed within time and to examine the assessee's eligibility in accordance with law after granting an opportunity of hearing.

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