TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (10) TMI 34
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..... The relevant particulars of the appeals are as under: ITA No. Name of the assessee Date of impugned order 6079/Mum/2026 St. Francis Xavier Church 29/03/2026 6119/Mum/2026 Our Lady of Remedy Church 30/03/2026 6141/Mum/2026 Conference of Our Lady of Dolours 30/03/2026 2. The grounds raised by the respective assessees are identical. For the sake of convenience, the grounds raised in ITA No. 6079/Mum/2026 are reproduced hereunder: "1. THE ORDER BAD IN LAW, ILLEGAL AND WITHOUT JURISDICTION 1.1 In the facts and the circumstances of the case, and in law, the order passed by Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption), Mumbai ['Ld. CIT'] in Form 10AD, rejecting the application for renewal of registration, is bad in law, illegal and without jurisdiction, as - (i) the same is not in accordance with the statutory provisions of the Income tax Act, 1961 ['the Act']; and (ii) the same is arbitrary and perverse. 2. VIOLATION OF PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL JUSTICE 2.1 In the facts and the circumstances of the case, and in law, the impugned order is bad in law and illegal, as the same is framed in gross breach of....
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....on as a public charitable trust as well as the certificate of registration granted by the Charity Commissioner. 3.2. Similar was the position in the case of Our Lady of Remedy Church. The Ld. CIT(E) recorded that the assessee explained that it had not been created under a separate written trust deed or Memorandum of Association and that administration of the Church, its properties, income and expenditure was in accordance with Canon Law. The assessee also furnished a copy of the application for registration of the public trust. 3.3. In the case of Conference of Our Lady of Dolours also, the Ld. CIT(E) recorded that the assessee stated that it had not been created under a separate written trust deed or Memorandum of Association and that it had been established and was functioning as a religious and charitable unit. The assessee had also furnished the Form of Application for Registration of Public Trust. The Ld. CIT(E), however, was of the view that the same constituted evidence of registration and not evidence of creation of the trust. 4. The Ld. CIT(E) was not satisfied with the explanations furnished by the respective assessees. Referring to section 12AB(1)(b) of the Act ....
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.... light of the record placed before us. 6. The controversy before us lies in a narrow compass. The applications filed by the respective assessees seeking renewal of registration u/s 12AB have essentially been rejected on account of their failure to furnish an instrument of creation or establishment, namely, a formal trust deed/Memorandum of Association. The Ld. CIT(E) proceeded on the premise that in the absence of such instrument, satisfaction contemplated u/s 12AB regarding the objects of the respective institutions and genuineness of their activities could not be arrived at. 6.1. For appreciating the controversy, it is relevant to refer to Rule 17A(2) of the Rules. The relevant portion, as reproduced by the Ld. CIT(E) himself in the impugned orders, provides as under: "(2) The application under sub-rule (1) shall be accompanied by the following documents, as required by Form 10A or 10AB, as the case may be, namely:- (a) where the applicant is created, or established, under an instrument, self-certified copy of such instrument creating or establishing the applicant; (b) where the applicant is created, or established, otherwise than under an instrum....
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....or renewal under the Income-tax Act. Section 12AB requires the competent authority to arrive at the prescribed satisfaction regarding the objects of the trust or institution, genuineness of its activities and compliance with such requirements of any other law as are material for achieving its objects. The Ld. CIT(E) is also empowered to call for such documents or information and make such enquiries as considered necessary for arriving at the statutory satisfaction. These parameters have themselves been noticed in the impugned orders. 6.7. In the present cases, it is not the case of the Revenue that the respective assessees were created or established under written instruments which they have failed to produce. On the contrary, the consistent explanation of the assessees has been that no separate written trust deed/Memorandum of Association exists and that they are religious and charitable institutions governed in accordance with Canon Law and registered as public trusts under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950. In the case of St. Francis Xavier Church, the impugned order itself records that the assessee had furnished the application made for registration as a public charita....