- Vide Decision of High Court of Allahabad in People Cause Foundation v. Income Tax Appellate Tribunal.
Facts of the Case:
- The Appellant is a company registered under section 8 of Companies Act, 2013 and had obtained a certificate under section 12A of Income Tax act,1961 (the Act, 1961).
- It also applied for Certificate Under Section 80G of the Act, 1961. The Application was dismissed, against which the Appellant preferred an appeal before ITAT, Lucknow.
- The ITAT redirected the matter back before the commissioner of income tax to be decided afresh after verifying the facts of the case with the details submitted by the assessee and specifically to determine the genuineness of the Documents and to come out with a speaking order.
- The Commissioner of Income Tax In his Order while rejecting the Applicationconsidered the fact that the applicant has deliberately not submitted any details regarding the identity of the donors and concluded that this is the malafide(Intent to deceive) attempt of the applicant.
- The Appellant contended before the ITAT that the registration under section 12A of the Act, 1961 had been accorded with submission of required information, details, vouchers and photographs as evidence before Commissioner of Tax. Further it was submitted that the Nature of activities can be examined at the stage of registration under section 80G(5) of the Act, 1961.
- Before the ITAT the appellant tried to show all the documents containing the expenses in the books and donations contains full details of Donors, and all the Evidences desired by the Commissioner of Income Tax.
- From the Perspective of the ITAT, Despite Numerous Documents and evidences submitted by the Applicant, registration has been rejected without examining the documents submitted and it remanded the matter to the Commissioner of Income tax (Exemptions) to take a fresh decision.
- The main contention of assessee by raising this appeal is, the facts and circumstances of the case could not have remanded back as the entire material was available for ITAT to come to subjective Satisfaction as to whether in the given circumstances the assessee was eligible for being granted a certificate under section 80G(5) of the Act, 1961, or not.
Judgment:
The Honorable High Court of Allahabad dismissed the appeal of the assessee saying that the ITAT rightly remanded the matter back to the commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions) for fresh consideration and decision on the basis of the evidence available on record regarding genuineness of the documents and to pass a speaking order.
The commissioner of Income Tax can take the decision on the application expeditiously say within a period of one month from the date a certified copy is produced before him, in accordance with law, after affording opportunity of hearing to the assessee.