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May 2026

Merely because one of the objects in the trust deed was “advancement of any other object of general public utility”, or that the receipts from an activity exceeded the 20% threshold, it could not, by itself, be decisive to deny registration under section 12AB unless CIT(E) examined the actual activities carried on by the trust and determined under which limb of Section 2(15) the activity would fall, and whether the receipts were independent commercial receipts or were merely incidental and ancillary to attainment of the objects.

By Jagdish T Punjabi, Chartered Accountant Devendra Jain & Aditya Bhatt, Advocates
Reading Time 5 mins

12. (2026) 184 taxmann.com 591 (Mum Trib)

Govardhan Eco Village Trust v. CIT(E)

A.Y.: N.A.

DATE: 23.03.2026

Section: 2(15), 12AB

Merely because one of the objects in the trust deed was “advancement of any other object of general public utility”, or that the receipts from an activity exceeded the 20% threshold, it could not, by itself, be decisive to deny registration under section 12AB unless CIT(E) examined the actual activities carried on by the trust and determined under which limb of Section 2(15) the activity would fall, and whether the receipts were independent commercial receipts or were merely incidental and ancillary to attainment of the objects.

FACTS

The assessee was originally granted registration under section 12A in 1998 for the charitable objects of “advancement of educational and social activities”, and “advancement of any other object of general public utility”. In accordance with the new section 12AB introduced in 2021, the assessee obtained provisional registration in 2021 and was subsequently granted registration in 2024 for AY 2022-23 to 202

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