The Finance Act, 2020, introduced the concept of a new procedure for registration of all existing and new charitable trusts and institutions under section 12AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Finance Act, 2020 has prescribed a new registration procedure for Charitable Trusts and Institutions under section 12AB. Existing registered trusts or institutions were required to migrate to the new registration regime u/s 12AB.

12A registration is a one-time registration which is granted by the Income Tax Department to trusts and other not for profit organisations. The purpose of the registration is to be exempted from the payment of income tax. 12A registration is generally applied for immediately after incorporation. Section 8 Companies, Trusts and NGOs which have obtained 12A registration enjoy exemption from paying income tax on their surplus income. The 12A registration facility is available for all non-profit entities. Hence, it is necessary for all Trusts, NGOs and other Not-for-Profit organisations to be aware of Section 12A of the Income Tax Act. The purpose of the present article is to discuss the procedure for obtaining 12A registration.