A latest CBDT circular has now clarified a long-pending issue that had been causing practical difficulty for many professionals. This doubt had also been raised before me by several professionals. The clarification became necessary because, although the law was amended with effect from 1 October 2024 to empower the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner to condone delay in applications under section 12A(1)(ac), the centralised processing framework under Rule 17A continued to treat the Director of Income-tax (Centralized Processing Centre), Bengaluru as the statutory authority for issuance of registration on Form No. 10A applications. This created a genuine ambiguity as to whether the delay was to be condoned by CPC Bengaluru or by the jurisdictional Commissioner. CBDT has now put the matter beyond doubt and clarified that the competent authority to condone delay in filing Form No. 10A under section 12A(1)(ac)(i) is the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner of Income-tax or Commissioner of Income-tax.
In this article, we discuss each aspect of the issue in detail and seek to explain the complete legal and practical position regarding delay in filing the form, the availability of condonation, and the procedure for making a condonation request. Every effort has been made to cover the relevant points comprehensively. However, if any doubt still remains after reading the article, or if any specific issue has not been covered, you may contact me at the details mentioned at the end of the article.
Why Form No. 10A matters
For a charitable or religious trust or institution, exemption under sections 11 and 12 does not operate merely because the objects are charitable. Registration under the statutory framework of sections 12A and 12AB is the gateway condition. Form No. 10A is the prescribed application through which a trust or institution enters that registration framework in the specified categories. It is, therefore, not a routine formality but the foundational compliance on which the exemption regime rests. The Income-tax portal’s own guidance now recognises Form No. 10A as the form for which condonation functionality has been enabled, precisely because delayed filing had created hardship in practice.
Filing Form No. 10A serves three purposes. First, it is the formal statutory application for registration or provisional registration. Second, it places the trust before the department with its foundational records, such as formation documents, registration records, prior orders and related particulars. Third, it fixes the trust within the statutory time-limit structure under section 12A/12AB. If the prescribed application is not filed within the permitted time, the trust risks being denied the benefit of registration, and consequently the exemption under sections 11 and 12 becomes vulnerable.
The statutory backdrop u/s 12A
Section 12A prescribes the conditions for the applicability of sections 11 and 12. Under clause (ac) of section 12A(1), a trust or institution is required to make an application in the prescribed form and within the prescribed time in order to obtain registration under section 12AB. The Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024 made an important procedural change by inserting a proviso to section 12A(1)(ac), effective from 1 October 2024, under which delay in filing the application can be condoned by the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner if there is a reasonable cause for the delay. Once condoned, the application is deemed to have been filed within time.
This amendment is important for two reasons. First, the power is discretionary: the authority must be satisfied that a reasonable cause existed. Second, the deeming fiction in the proviso cures the limitation defect itself by treating the delayed application as though it had been filed within time. The amendment is therefore remedial and intended to protect genuine applicants from substantive denial on account of procedural delay.
Why the confusion arose even after the 2024 amendment
Although the statute was amended with effect from 1 October 2024, the administrative framework for processing Form No. 10A had already been centralised. Circular No. 01/2026 itself records that, in terms of Rule 17A(5) read with Notification S.O. 1443(E) dated 1 April 2021 and Notification S.O. 2161(E) dated 9 May 2022, the Director of Income-tax (Centralized Processing Centre), Bengaluru continued to remain the statutory authority for issuing registration on an application in Form No. 10A under section 12A(1)(ac)(i).
Thus, two separate functions came to exist side by side. One was the processing and issuance of registration , which remained centralised. The other was the condonation of delay , which the amended statute vested in the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner. The Board received references asking which authority should decide the condonation request in a delayed Form No. 10A case. Circular No. 01/2026 was issued precisely to resolve this jurisdictional uncertainty.
What Circular No. 01/2026 actually clarifies
CBDT has, in exercise of powers under section 119(2)(b), clarified that the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner of Income-tax or Commissioner of Income-tax shall have the power to condone delay in filing Form No. 10A under sub-clause (i) of clause (ac) of sub-section (1) of section 12A. The circular is specifically directed to delayed Form No. 10A filings under section 12A(1)(ac)(i), because that is the context in which the CPC-based registration framework had created doubt.
The circular also specifies its scope. It applies to all cases where Form No. 10A has been filed beyond the prescribed time and the condonation application is either pending, or is filed on or after 23 March 2026. In effect, it covers both existing delayed cases awaiting decision and future delayed filings.
Date-wise compliance position under the section 12A/12AB framework
The filing obligation differs depending on the category of trust or institution.
In the case of trusts or institutions already registered under section 12A or section 12AA on or before 31 March 2021, the migration application in Form No. 10A had to be made on or before 30 June 2024. CBDT Circular No. 7/2024 extended the due date for such Form No. 10A filings up to 30 June 2024. Therefore, in this category, if Form No. 10A was not filed by 30 June 2024, the delay commenced from 1 July 2024.
For a new trust or institution seeking provisional registration, the departmental framework explained in Circular No. 6/2023 provides that the application is to be made at least one month prior to the commencement of the previous year relevant to the assessment year from which registration is sought, and that such provisional registration is valid for a maximum period of three years. In such a case, Form No. 10A operates as the entry-point application for provisional registration.
Once provisional registration is granted, the trust is required to move to regular registration through Form No. 10AB. Circular No. 6/2023 clarifies that this application has to be made at least six months prior to the expiry of the provisional period, or within six months of commencement of activities, whichever is earlier. Thus, if activities commence earlier, the six-month-from-commencement test controls; if activities have not yet commenced, the six-month-before-expiry test governs.
This distinction between Form No. 10A and Form No. 10AB is important. Form No. 10A is not an annual compliance form. It is generally used for initial, provisional or specified entry-stage categories, whereas Form No. 10AB is used for later-stage situations such as regular registration after provisional approval, renewal-type situations, and certain other statutory categories under the section 12A/12AB regime.
When exactly does the delay begin
The delay begins from the day immediately following the last statutory or extended due date.
Accordingly, where the due date for a legacy migration Form No. 10A filing was 30 June 2024, the delay starts from 1 July 2024. Where Form No. 10AB is required within six months from commencement of activities, the delay starts from the next day after expiry of that six-month period. Where Form No. 10AB is required at least six months before expiry of provisional registration, the delay begins from the day after that six-month cut-off date is crossed.
Who has power to condone the delay
The law, after the 2024 amendment, uses the expression "Principal Commissioner or Commissioner" in the proviso to section 12A(1)(ac). Circular No. 01/2026 then removes the practical ambiguity and states that, for delayed Form No. 10A filings under section 12A(1)(ac)(i), the competent authority is the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner of Income-tax or Commissioner of Income-tax. This means the condonation power is to be exercised by the jurisdictional PCIT/CIT, and not by CPC Bengaluru.
This distinction should be stated clearly in professional representations. CPC Bengaluru may continue to remain the statutory authority for processing and issuing registration in the centralised system, but the power to condone delay is with the jurisdictional PCIT/CIT. That is the central legal consequence of Circular No. 01/2026.
Portal implementation after the circular
The Income-tax portal now contains a specific user manual for filing condonation requests for Form No. 10A under section 12A. The manual states that this functionality did not previously exist and that taxpayers can now file the condonation request on the e-filing portal. It also specifically states that the application is to be made to PCIT/CIT(E) , that the due date of Form No. 10A should have lapsed, that there should be a valid reason for delay, and that the filing can be made only through the online mode. The portal path is shown as: Services → Condonation request → Application for statutory forms.
This is significant because it shows that the circular is not merely theoretical. The systems side has been aligned to enable a delayed Form No. 10A applicant to approach the correct authority through the portal itself.
Practical impact of the circular
The circular substantially eases the procedural position for charitable and religious trusts. A delayed Form No. 10A filing no longer has to remain in a jurisdictional limbo. Where the trust or institution is otherwise eligible and can show reasonable cause, it can seek condonation before the jurisdictional PCIT/CIT and, upon condonation, the application will be treated as filed within time. This prevents denial of exemption benefits merely because of delay in the filing of the entry-stage registration form.
For practitioners, the circular is particularly useful in cases where the application was delayed for procedural or transition-related reasons, but the trust was substantively eligible throughout. The Board itself states that the circular is intended to avoid genuine hardship and to ensure that eligible trusts or institutions are not denied the benefit of registration solely on account of delay in filing Form No. 10A. That language strengthens condonation petitions and representations.
What a proper condonation request should contain
Although Circular No. 01/2026 does not prescribe a detailed drafting format, the governing statutory standard remains “reasonable cause.” A proper condonation request should therefore clearly state the category under section 12A(1)(ac), the prescribed due date, the actual filing date of Form No. 10A, the exact period of delay, and the factual explanation for the delay. It should also place on record the bona fides of the trust and any supporting documents that show the delay was not deliberate. The portal manual also contemplates that, where Form No. 10A has already been filed, the acknowledgment number and date of filing are to be furnished.
In drafting terms, the petition should expressly invoke the proviso to section 12A(1)(ac), refer to CBDT Circular No. 01/2026 dated 23 March 2026, and request that the delayed Form No. 10A be treated as filed within time upon condonation.
In practice, I have seen various mistakes being made by applicants in such matters. In many cases, the applicant simply submits a one-page letter to the Commissioner seeking condonation, which, in my view, is not the proper legal approach. A condonation application should not be casual or mechanical. It should contain a detailed explanation of the delay, supported by relevant documents and evidence. Wherever appropriate, it should also refer to applicable statutory provisions, circulars, and judicial precedents. Since there is no fixed statutory format for such an application, its contents must be drafted carefully according to the facts and circumstances of each case. However, in all cases, the application should be comprehensive, properly reasoned, and supported by the necessary material.
Illustrative example
Suppose a trust already registered under section 12AA before 31 March 2021 was required to file Form No. 10A by 30 June 2024, but actually filed it on 15 July 2024. In such a case, the delay runs from 1 July 2024. After the insertion of the proviso with effect from 1 October 2024, and in view of Circular No. 01/2026, the trust may seek condonation from the jurisdictional PCIT/CIT. If reasonable cause is established and condonation is granted, the law deems the application to have been filed within time.
Likewise, where a newly created trust obtains provisional registration and later commences activities, it must move to regular registration through Form No. 10AB within six months of commencement of activities or six months before expiry of provisional registration, whichever is earlier. Failure to file within that period creates delay from the next day onward, and the condonation question must then be examined in the light of the statutory proviso and the applicable filing category.
Conclusion
CBDT Circular No. 01/2026 is an important remedial clarification under the charitable registration regime. The law already empowered the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner to condone delay in applications under section 12A(1)(ac) from 1 October 2024. The circular now removes the practical confusion created by the CPC-based processing structure and makes it clear that, for delayed Form No. 10A filings under section 12A(1)(ac)(i), the power to condone delay lies with the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner of Income-tax or Commissioner of Income-tax , and not with CPC Bengaluru.
The larger message is equally important. Delay in filing Form No. 10A is no longer a dead-end for an otherwise genuine and eligible trust. Where reasonable cause exists, relief can be sought from the proper authority, and once condonation is granted, the delayed application stands cured by statutory fiction. Circular No. 01/2026 therefore provides both legal clarity and practical relief for trusts navigating the section 12A/12AB registration framework.
The author can also be reached at varunmukeshgupta96@gmail.com
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