Registration of Charitable trust

• The trust should get itself registered [Form No. 10A for Application] with the Commissioner of Income-tax within one year from the date on which the trust is created.
• The Commissioner may, in his discretion, admit an application for the registration of any trust or institution after the expiry of the aforesaid period. Where an application for registration is made after the aforesaid period, the provisions of sections 11 and 12 will apply from the date of the creation of the trust, if the Commissioner is satisfied that the person in receipt of income was prevented from making the application with the aforesaid period for sufficient reason. If, however, the Commissioner is not so satisfied, provisions of sections 11 and 12 will be applicable from the previous year in which application is made.
• Section 12AA has been inserted with effect from the assessment year 1997-98 to provide for a procedure to be followed for grant of registration to a trust or institution. According to this, the Chief Commissioner or Commissioner shall call for documents and information and hold enquiries regarding the genuineness of the trust or institution. After he is satisfied about the charitable or religious nature of the objects and genuiness of the activities of the trust or institution, he will pass an order granting registration and if he is not so satisfied, he will pass an order refusing registration, subject to the condition that an opportunity of being heard shall be provided to the applicant before an order of refusal to grant registration is passed by the Chief Commissioner or Commissioner and the reasons for refusal of registration shall be mentioned in such order.
• The order granting or refusing registration has to be passed within six months from the end of the month in which the application for registration is received by the Chief Commissioner or Commissioner and a copy of such order shall be sent to the applicant. The grant of registration shall be one of the conditions for grant of income-tax exemption.
• The accounts of the trust should be audited (Form No. 10B) for such accounting year in which its income exceeds Rs. 50,000 .
• From the assessment year 1983-84 onwards, the funds of the trust should be invested or deposited in any one or more of the modes or forms mentioned in section 11(5).