Form 180: Application for approval of a fund under Schedule VII, Table serial number 2
Source checked 21 October 2026 · Original author: Finin2min Editorial Desk
Purpose, person and period
Application for approval of a fund under Schedule VII, Table serial number 2.
The trustee/principal officer applies in Form 180 for the specified employee-benefit fund approval, with constitution, activities, accounts and the undertaking to report changes in its governing terms.
Period gate: This numbered form belongs to the Income-tax Rules, 2026, effective 1 April 2026. The predecessor 9 is a concordance, not permission to change an earlier-year filing into a new-law form. For earlier periods, use the applicable 1961 Act form and saved procedure.
Controlling rule and source pages
Rule 286; . Physical PDF pp 944-946; printed Gazette pp 2476-2478.
Rule 286 — connected rule text
286. Requirements for approval of a fund for welfare of employees and their dependents under Schedule VII [Table: Sl. No. 2] to Act. — (1) Any fund established for such purposes as may be notified by the Board for the welfare of employees and their dependents (where such employees are member of such fund) shall be formed under a trust and it shall be evidenced by a trust deed. (2) The contributions to the fund are to be made by the employees by way of periodical subscription. (3) The application for approval shall be made in Form No. 180 to the Principal Commissioner of Income -tax or Commissioner of Income -tax having jurisdiction over the area or territory in which the accounts are kept and such application shall be accompanied by the documents mentioned therein. (4) The Principal Commissioner of Income-tax or Commissioner of Income-tax, where he is satisfied that, — (a) all the conditions laid down in Schedule VII [Table: Sl. No.2] to the Act and this rule are fulfilled, he shall record such satisfaction in writing and grant approval to the fund specifying the tax year or years not exceeding three tax years for which the approval shall be valid; (b) if any of the conditions laid down in Schedule VII [Table: Sl. No.2] to the Act and this rule is not fulfilled, he shall reject the application for approval, after recording the reasons for such rejection in w riting. (5) No order of rejection of an application shall be passed without giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
Completed field illustration
Fictional data, not for filing. A fictional employee-benefit trust applies for fund approval with a defined education-benefit object and contribution/investment records.
| Form field / block | Completed fictional entry |
|---|---|
| Part A: trust / PAN / address / contacts | Example Employee Education Fund / synthetic ZZZTE0000Z / 10 Model Road Pune, where accounts kept / fund@example.invalid |
| Employer / PAN / object | Example Employer Ltd / synthetic ZZZCE0000Z / cash benefits for education of dependent children, form object (c) |
| Trustees / members | Priya Arun Sharma and Arun Dev Mehta, model Pune addresses, synthetic PANs / 100 Indian employees, none overseas |
| Rows 11-12: subscriptions / contributions / income | Yes, periodic employee contributions / 100 × Rs 1,000 × 12 = Rs 12,00,000 / assumed bank interest Rs 60,000 |
| Rows 13-15: use / permitted investments / other modes | Wholly/exclusively stated purpose assumed / bank deposit Rs 12,60,000, permitted mode assumed / no other mode |
| A-1/A-2/A-3 / verification | Model trust instrument, activity note and since-inception accounts / authorised trustee NOT SIGNED; approval not granted |
This illustrates the named fields, not every possible schedule. Use the complete official extract for additional applicable fields, annexures and verification. “Not signed” means no professional certification or authority action has occurred.
Reconcile the example
- 100 × 1,000 × 12 = 12 lakh contributions; plus 60,000 assumed interest = 12.6 lakh fund assets before distributions, assumed none.
Actual trust objects, employee membership, allowed application and section 350 investment modes must be established. This approval application does not automatically make contributions deductible or all employee receipts exempt.
Prepare, furnish and retain
- Use the form identity and period above, then determine the person who prepares, issues or verifies it from Rule 286. An authority-issued order is not an applicant filing.
- Collect the records that support the actual fields in the example; keep any mandatory schedules and annexures specified in the complete source form.
- Reconcile dates, amounts, units and identifiers to the underlying records. Preserve the applicable rule version and any later correcting notification.
- Where the rule prescribes electronic furnishing, use the current official utility/schema and authorised verification. A local PDF does not produce a portal acknowledgement.
- Retain the submitted version, supporting schedules and actual acknowledgement or issued certificate/order, as applicable. This fictional model supplies none of those evidential outcomes.
Download the correct documents
Official Form 180 source extract Filled sample — fictional field illustration
The official extract preserves source pages; later amendments are supplied with affected forms. Read the April corrigendum where its printed-page corrections apply. The filled field illustration is an educational model and cannot be filed.
Primary sources
Questions readers ask
Does this sample prove approval, filing or a professional conclusion?
No. It completes the named fields using synthetic facts. It has no real signature, DSC, approval or acknowledgement.
Can I use the legacy form number for a current tax-year obligation?
Establish the governing period first. A predecessor number is a cross-reference; earlier-year procedures and current-year forms must be kept distinct.