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Case lawCirculars1973 › Circular No. 115
CBDT circular 30 June 1973

Circular No. 115

Section 12A l Conditions as to Registration of Trusts

What this is

Circular No. 115 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 30 June 1973. Its subject is Section 12A l Conditions as to Registration of Trusts.

This is an extension of time. It moves a date that the Act or the Rules otherwise fix, and it does so only for the compliance and the period it names — not for anything else that happens to fall due at the same time.

What it does

Extends the time for charitable and religious trusts to apply to the Commissioner under section 12A(a) for registration, from 1 July 1973 to 15 August 1973, or one year from the date of creation of the trust, whichever is later. The Board directs Commissioners to allow time until 15 August 1973 in all cases where a request for extension has been received; requests for time beyond that date are to be considered on merits. A press note to the same effect is annexed.

Why it was issued

The original date of 1 July 1973 was pressing on trusts seeking exemption under sections 11 and 12, and requests for extension had been received.

Who it reaches

The provisions it speaks to

Left, the provision of the Income-tax Act, 1961 as the instrument itself names it. Right, the section of the Income-tax Act, 2025 that the department’s own concordance maps it to — which is where the same ground is now covered.
Under the 1961 ActNow
s.11s.332, s.333, s.334, s.335, s.337, s.338, s.339, s.340, s.341, s.342, s.344, s.345, s.350, s.355
s.12As.332, s.347, s.348, s.349

The instrument, as the Board published it

The words below are the department’s own, reproduced from its published text. Where the department’s copy carried a publisher’s notes after the instrument, those are not reproduced.

SECTION 12A l CONDITIONS AS TO REGISTRATION OF TRUSTS
170. Time for filing of applications for registration by charitable and religious trusts - Extended up to August 1973
1. All charitable and religious trusts, which desire to avail of the benefits of tax exemption under sections 11 and 12 are, inter alia, required to file under section 12A(a) an application in the prescribed form for registration of the trust before the Commissioner of Income-tax by July 1, 1973 or one year from the date of creation of the trust, whichever is later. A copy of the Press Note is enclosed [Annex].
2. I am directed to state that the time for filing of such applications has been extended until August 15, 1973 or one year from the date of creation of the trust, whichever is later.
3. The Board desire that wherever requests have been received for extension of time for filing of application under section 12A, the Commissioners of Income-tax may allow time till August 15, 1973 in all cases. Requests for extension of time to file applications beyond August 15, 1973 may be considered on merits.
Circular : No. 115 [F. No. 180/21/73-IT(A-I)], dated 30-6-1973.
ANNEX - PRESS NOTE REFERRED TO IN CLARIFICATION
The time for filing applications for registration by charitable and religious trust has been extended until August 15, 1973, or one year from the date of creation of the trust, whichever is later. The time limit originally fixed was July 1.
All charitable and religious trusts, which wish to take advantage of the benefits of tax exemption under sections 11 and 12, are required, among other things, to file an application for registration before the Commissioner of Income-tax. For prescribed application forms or any other assistance they can contact the Income-tax Officer or the Public Relations Officer.

What to watch

Where you meet it

Only in old records where a trust's registration application was filed between 1 July and 15 August 1973 and its timeliness was questioned.

On the same provision

Other instruments in this library that name the same provision of the 1961 Act. They are not necessarily still operative, and a later one may have replaced an earlier one without saying so.

← Circular No. 116  ·  Circular No. 114 →

A circular binds the department, not you and not a court. The Board issues a circular to its own officers. An assessee may hold the department to a circular that helps him; the department cannot hold an assessee to one that hurts him, and the Tribunal and the courts decide the law for themselves.

Source: the Income Tax Department’s own published text — its page for this instrument.