Shri 1008 Digambar Jain Atishay Kshetra Papoura Ji v. ITO (Exemption)

Case snapshot

Sections / provisions: 11; 115BBE; 12; 12AA; 68

Questions before the Court / Tribunal

• Trust registration for earlier years; donations; section 68; section 115BBE: The ITATOnline record reports multiple issues involving retrospective availability of sections 11/12 after registration, avoidance of double addition of donations already credited to income, and the effective year of the enhanced section 115BBE rate. Each issue requires checking against the primary order before publication.

Material facts and background

(i) The brief facts state that the appellant assessee is a

religious/charitable trust registered under MP Public Trust Act, vide Regn No. 8/113/(1)1,/71,-72, dated 15.07.2076, appellant trust was also registered u/s 12AA of the Income Tax Act, vide Regn no. CIT Exemption

Bhopal/12AA/2018-19/A/10218 dated 26.11.2018 by the Commissioner of Income Tax, Bhopal, (applicable from A.Y. 2019-20). (ii)

The assessee trust filed its return of income for A.Y. 2017-18 on

31.03.2018, declaring total income at Rs. 2,01,080/-. The case was selected through CASS for complete scrutiny mainly to examine the issue of cash deposit during the demonetization period and large deduction claimed u/s 57 of the Act. Statutory notices u/s 143(2) and 142(1) of the Act were issued and served upon the assessee, calling for certain details in respect of the nature and source of huge cash deposits in bank. Assessee submitted the required details. The assessing officer noted that a cash of Rs. 43,00,000/- was deposited on 13.11.2016 in assessee’s Central Bank of India A/C no. 1489004580 and Rs 47,00,000/- was deposited on 12.11.2016 in assessee’s Sardar Singh Nagrik Sahkari Bank Mydt, A/C no. 178, Tikamgarh in demonetized notes. Assessee explained the source of cash deposits as donations received by the trust from various donors, further stating that during the year under consideration, cash donation of Rs. 34,21,000/- under ‘ABHISHEK DONATION INCOME’ and of Rs. 41,25,000/- under ‘INDRA INDRANI DONATION INCOME’ (aggregated donation of Rs. 75,46,000/-) was received in view of function of Panchkalyanak Patishtha Mahotsava (Praan Pratishtha) of holy idol of Shri 1008 shri...

After considering assessee’s submissions, the assessing officer

observed that the aforesaid donations were received from 16.10.2016 onwards in cash just before one month prior to the announcement of demonetization. He treated the donations as fictitious, non genuine or bogus further observing that the trust was also not registered u/s 12AA of the Act during the year under consideration, the A.O, thus, added the claimed donations of Rs. 75,46,000/- as unexplained cash credit u/s 68 of the Act and charged to tax u/s 115BBE of the Act. 3.

Appellant / assessee submissions

31.03.2018, declaring total income at Rs. 2,01,080/-. The case was selected through CASS for complete scrutiny mainly to examine the issue of cash deposit during the demonetization period and large deduction claimed u/s 57 of the Act. Statutory notices u/s 143(2) and 142(1) of the Act were issued and served upon the assessee, calling for certain details in respect of the nature and source of huge cash deposits in bank. Assessee submitted the required details. The assessing officer noted that a cash of Rs. 43,00,000/- was deposited on 13.11.2016 in assessee’s Central Bank of India A/C no. 1489004580 and Rs 47,00,000/- was deposited on 12.11.2016 in assessee’s Sardar Singh Nagrik Sahkari Bank Mydt, A/C no. 178, Tikamgarh in demonetized notes. Assessee explained the source of cash deposits as donations received by the trust from various donors, further stating that during the year under consideration, cash donation of Rs. 34,21,000/- under ‘ABHISHEK DONATION INCOME’ and of Rs. 41,25,000/- under ‘INDRA INDRANI DONATION INCOME’ (aggregated donation of Rs. 75,46,000/-) was received in view of function of Panchkalyanak Patishtha Mahotsava (Praan Pratishtha) of holy idol of Shri 1008 shri...

registration u/s 12AA of the Act was granted on 26.11.2018 for the religious activities (applicable from A.Y. 2019-20). The grant of registration dated 26.11.2018 was prior to the passing of the assessment order dated 29.12.2019 as well as the impugned order dated 05.08.2025. The assessee is entitled for the claimed relief in view of the proviso to section 12A(2) of the Act, in respect of the income derived from the donations received with regard to the activities of the trust, also for the earlier years. Ld AR has referred the following case law in support of his arguments – Prem Prakash Mandal Sewa Trust vs. ITO (Exemption) Raipur, [2021] 132 taxmann. com 269 (Raipur-Trib), Sree Sree Ramkrishna Samity vs. DCIT(Cir-2), Siliguri,

Revenue / respondent submissions

Ld Sr DR for the respondent revenue has submitted that the

consideration. There has been no past history of the assessee trust to deposit such a huge cash in bank accounts, which was collected one month prior to the commencement of the demonetization. Ld Sr DR supports the impugned order. 9.

Court / Tribunal analysis and reasoning

confirming the assessment order in charging special tax rate on income of Rs. 2,01,080/- u/s 115BBE is unsustainable? Hon’ble Madras High Court in S.M.I.L.E Microfinance Ltd (supra), vide order dated 19.11.2024, has held that the said provision applies for future transactions i.e. from 01.04.2017. The revenue cannot, therefore, charge special rate on assessee’s income of Rs. 2,01,080/- which pertains to A.Y. 2017-18 but under the normal provisions of the Act only. The aforesaid point is accordingly determined in favour of the appellant assessee and against the respondent revenue. 18.

Operative decision and relief

In the result, assessee’s appeal is allowed. Order pronounced on - 22.06.2026

Authorities and precedents appearing in the judgment

• Prem Prakash Mandal Sewa Trust vs. ITO (Exemption) Raipur
• Sree Sree Ramkrishna Samity vs. DCIT(Cir-2)
• Yogam vs. ADIT (Exemption)
• Badhte Kadam v. DCIT
• Madras High Court in S.M.I.L.E Microfinance Ltd v. ACIT
• Ghaziabad v. Uttaranchal Welfare Society
• DIT(Exemption) v. Keshav Social & Charitable

This list is machine-assisted from the judgment text and is not a substitute for checking the full citation chain in the PDF.

Ratio and legal principle

The decision turns on Trust registration for earlier years; donations; section 68; section 115BBE. The operative result is classified as Allowed. Read the rule only with the statutory version, factual findings and precedent chain recorded in the full judgment.

Why this judgment matters

The case is relevant to taxpayers, advisers and litigators dealing with Trust registration for earlier years; donations; section 68; section 115BBE. Its practical value lies in the interaction between the statutory text, the evidentiary record and the procedural route followed in this case.

Practitioner action points

• Build a transaction-level evidence file: confirmations, bank trail, invoices, ledger, tax/GST records and counter-party material rather than relying on a generic explanation.
• Where the addition depends on a third-party statement or investigation report, record the request for the relied material and cross-examination at the earliest stage.
• Keep registration, audit-report, Form 10/10B/10BB and filing timestamps together; many exemption disputes are procedural and depend on when the form existed versus when it was uploaded.
• For litigation, attach the full judgment/order to the working paper and cite the paragraph/page supporting the proposition rather than relying on a headnote alone.

Full judgment and source trail

Read / download the clean local judgment copy

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