12A and 80G Registration for Trusts and NGOs
Income-tax registration of trusts, societies and Section 8 companies under Section 332 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (formerly Section 12A / 12AB), and approval for donors’ deduction under Section 354 (formerly Section 80G).
Last updated · Page maintained by SKAG and Associates · Editorial policy
Quick answers
What replaced 12A and 80G from April 2026?
Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, registration of a non-profit organisation is under Section 332 (formerly 12A / 12AB) and approval for donors’ deduction is under Section 354 (formerly 80G(5)). The application forms are Form 104 (formerly Form 10A) and Form 105 (formerly Form 10AB).
Do existing 12AB and 80G approvals continue?
Yes. Section 355 treats a registration under Section 12A, 12AA, 12AB or 10(23C) of the 1961 Act, and an approval under Section 80G(5), as a registration or approval for the new Act until it expires or is cancelled. Renewal is then sought under Section 332 or 354.
How long is a registration valid?
Provisional registration: three tax years. Regular registration: five tax years; on conversion, renewal, re-operation or change of objects, ten tax years where total income did not exceed Rs 5 crore in each of the two preceding tax years (Section 332(5)). Approval under Section 354 is for three years (provisional) or five years (regular).
What our 12A and 80G Registration service covers
How the engagement works
How to start
You can start by email or WhatsApp; the office reviews the papers before any filing.
Send these three things first:
- The trust deed, society memorandum and rules, or Section 8 company MoA, AoA and incorporation certificate
- PAN of the entity and the existing 12A / 12AB / 80G order, if any
- Accounts for the last three years (or since formation) and a short note on activities
What you provide
- Genuine activities and records that show them
- Accurate trustee, donor and accounts data
- Verification of the application on your own login
What the firm does
- Eligibility review and choice of form
- Drafting the application and notes on activities
- Replies to queries and annual compliance as agreed
What happens next: The office confirms which application applies, the time limit and the documents still needed in an engagement letter before drafting.
Documents required
- → Trust deed / society memorandum and rules / Section 8 MoA, AoA and licence
- → Registration certificate (Registrar of Societies, sub-registrar or MCA)
- → PAN of the entity; PAN and Aadhaar of trustees, members or directors
- → Existing registration or approval orders (12A, 12AA, 12AB, 80G, 10(23C))
- → Audited accounts and returns of income for up to the last three years
- → Note on activities with evidence (photographs, beneficiary records, reports)
- → NGO Darpan ID, FCRA registration and other licences, where held
- → Deed of amendment or board resolution, if objects were changed
For a specific 12A and 80G Registration matter, you may send the details through the contact form, call +91 88022 54567 or write on WhatsApp (Mon–Sat, 10:00 AM–7:00 PM). Please do not send passwords or OTPs.
12A and 80G under the Income-tax Act, 2025
Old and new section and form numbers
| Subject | Income-tax Act, 1961 (up to 31 March 2026) | Income-tax Act, 2025 (from 1 April 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Registration of trust / institution | Section 12A / 12AB | Section 332 |
| Approval for donors’ deduction | Section 80G(5) | Section 354 |
| Donor’s deduction | Section 80G | Section 133(1)(b)(ii) |
| Application: provisional | Form 10A | Form 104 |
| Application: regular, renewal and other cases | Form 10AB | Form 105 |
| Order on a provisional application | Form 10AC | Form 106 |
| Order on a regular application | Form 10AD | Form 107 |
| Audit report | Form 10B / 10BB | Form 112 (Section 348) |
| Statement of donations | Form 10BD | Form 113 |
| Certificate to the donor | Form 10BE | Form 114 |
Form numbers are from the Income Tax Department’s form mapping guide for the Income-tax Rules, 2026. The site’s Income Tax Act 2025 transition guide lists other renumbered sections.
Who can apply
Section 332(1) covers a public trust, a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or any other law, a Section 8 company (including an old Section 25 company), a university or educational institution established by law or affiliated or recognised by the Government, an institution financed wholly or partly by the Government or a local authority, and certain funds and institutions listed in Schedules III and VII. The applicant must be constituted in India for charitable purposes (Section 2(23)) or public religious purposes, with its property held under an irrevocable trust wholly for those purposes in India.
Approval under Section 354 has further conditions: the entity must not be for the benefit of a particular religious community or caste; religious expenditure must not exceed 5% of total income in a tax year; its rules must not allow assets to be transferred for a non-charitable purpose; it must keep regular accounts; and it must file the statement of donations and issue certificates to donors.
Provisional and regular registration: time limits
The Table in Section 332(3) sets out each case. The same pattern applies to approval under Section 354(2).
| Case | Apply | Order within | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| New entity, activities not started, never registered (provisional) | Any time during the tax year from which registration is sought (Form 104) | One month from the end of the month of application | Three tax years from the year of application |
| Activities started, never registered | Any time during the tax year from which registration is sought (Form 105) | Six months from the end of the quarter of application | Five tax years from the year of application |
| Provisionally registered, activities started | Within six months of commencement of activities | Six months from the end of the quarter | Five tax years from the year of application |
| Provisional registration expiring, activities not started | At least six months before expiry | Six months from the end of the quarter | Five tax years from the following tax year |
| Regular registration expiring (renewal) | At least six months before expiry | Six months from the end of the quarter | Five tax years from the following tax year |
| Registration inoperative after switching from a Schedule exemption | Any time during the tax year from which it is to be made operative | Six months from the end of the quarter | Five tax years |
| Objects adopted or modified in a way that does not fit the registration | Within 30 days of the change | Six months from the end of the quarter | Five tax years |
Ten-year validity for smaller organisations. Under Section 332(5), where the total income (before the exemption) did not exceed Rs 5 crore in each of the two tax years before the application, registration in the conversion, renewal, re-operation and change-of-object cases is valid for ten years instead of five. It does not apply to the first application of an entity that is already working. Section 354 has no matching clause, so 80G-type approval stays at five years and may need renewal before the registration does.
Late applications. The Commissioner may condone delay for reasonable cause (Section 332(4)). If an application in the conversion, renewal or change-of-object cases is late and the delay is not condoned, the organisation becomes liable to tax on accreted income under Section 352, broadly the value of its net assets. Diarising the six-month dates is therefore the most important part of the work.
Registrations and approvals granted before April 2026
Section 355 defines a registered non-profit organisation as one with a valid registration under a “specified provision”, which includes Sections 12A, 12AA, 12AB and 10(23C) of the 1961 Act, and defines approval to include approval under Section 80G(5). A 12AB registration or 80G approval valid on 31 March 2026 therefore continues until the date on its order; renewal, conversion and change-of-object applications are now made in Form 105.
What the Commissioner examines
For every case other than a provisional application, the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner may call for documents and make inquiries to be satisfied about the genuineness of activities and compliance with other laws material to the objects (Section 332(7)). If not satisfied, the Commissioner must give an opportunity of hearing before rejecting the application; in a conversion or renewal case, rejection also cancels the existing registration. A provisional application is granted without that inquiry (Section 332(8)), so most scrutiny happens at conversion.
An order rejecting or cancelling registration or approval can be appealed to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal under Section 362(1)(b)(i), within two months from the end of the month in which the order is communicated.
NGO Darpan and other registrations
NGO Darpan is the NITI Aayog portal that issues a unique ID to voluntary organisations, and it is generally needed to apply for grants from Central Government ministries. The income-tax application asks about recognition and registration under other laws. An organisation that receives or seeks government grants should obtain the Darpan ID before filing Form 104 or 105 and give it wherever the form on the e-filing portal asks for it. FCRA registration and, for CSR funds, Form CSR-1 with the MCA are separate registrations.
Donations: deduction, statement and certificate
- Donor’s deduction: 50% of the donation to an approved institution, with the qualifying amount capped at 10% of the donor’s adjusted gross total income (Section 133(1)(b)(ii) and 133(2)). Donations must be in money, and a cash donation above Rs 2,000 is not allowed (Section 133(4) and (5)).
- Old regime only: the deduction is not available to a donor who pays tax under the new regime of Section 202.
- Statement and certificate: donations received in a tax year are reported in Form 113 by 31 May after the year, and the donor certificate in Form 114 is issued by the same date (Rule 190(6) and (8)). The first Form 113 covers Tax Year 2026-27 and is due by 31 May 2027. Donations received in FY 2025-26 were reported in Form 10BD / 10BE.
- Consequences of delay: a fee of Rs 200 per day, not exceeding the amount concerned (Section 429), and a penalty of Rs 10,000 to Rs 1,00,000 (Section 464). The donor’s claim is allowed only on the basis of the statement filed (Section 133(6)).
Templates: 80G donation receipt format and 12A and 80G application cover letter.
Keeping the registration: annual compliance
- Application of income: taxable regular income is nil where at least 85% of regular income is applied to the objects or accumulated in the tax year (Section 336). Accumulation beyond that needs a statement filed by the return due date, for up to five years (Section 342).
- Books, audit and return: where income before the exemption exceeds the basic exemption limit, books must be kept (Section 347), accounts audited with the report in Form 112 (Section 348), and the return filed on time (Section 349). Missing any of these makes the year’s income taxable under Section 353.
- Commercial activity: an organisation for the advancement of general public utility may carry on commercial activity only in the course of its objects, with receipts not above 20% of total receipts and separate books (Section 346).
Section 351 lists “specified violations” that can lead to cancellation, including application of income outside the objects, activities that are not genuine, and false information in the application. The statutory audit and income tax return filing pages cover the audit and return side.
Official sources
- Income-tax Act, 2025 as enacted (Sections 133, 202, 332 to 355, 362, 429, 464), e-Gazette
- Finance Act, 2026 (Section 77 amending Section 332(1)(f); Section 81 inserting Section 354A on mergers), e-Gazette
- Form mapping guide, Income-tax Rules, 2026 (Forms 104, 105, 106, 113, 114), incometax.gov.in
- Form 113 / Form 114 (due dates under Rule 190), incometax.gov.in
- FAQs and guidance notes on forms under the Income-tax Rules, 2026 (including Form 112), incometaxindia.gov.in
- NGO Darpan portal, NITI Aayog
Common reasons for rejection or delay
- Wrong form for the case. Form 104 is only for an entity that has not started activities and was never registered; an entity already working applies in Form 105.
- Deed that is revocable or allows non-charitable use of assets. The property must be held under an irrevocable trust, and for approval the dissolution clause must keep the assets for charitable purposes.
- Objects for one community or caste. This bars approval under Section 354, and religious expenditure above 5% of total income does the same.
- No evidence that activities are genuine. Conversion or renewal without accounts, activity reports and beneficiary records draws queries or rejection.
- Missing the six-month window. Converting a provisional registration or renewing late, without condonation, exposes the organisation to tax on accreted income.
- Inconsistent details. Names, addresses or objects that differ between the deed, PAN record and application; false information is a specified violation.
12A and 80G Registration for clients in New Delhi & Delhi NCR
SKAG and Associates is a firm of Chartered Accountants based at Kh.No-84, Plot No -RZ-I-1, F/Floor, 12/2, Main Rd, opposite Yammaha Showroom, Mahavir Enclave, New Delhi – 110045. The firm handles 12A and 80G Registration work and allied compliance for individuals, professionals, firms and companies across New Delhi, South West Delhi and the wider Delhi NCR region, as well as clients elsewhere in India who engage it remotely.
Engagements are conducted strictly in accordance with the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 and the ICAI Code of Ethics. To discuss your requirement, you are welcome to contact the office or call +91 88022 54567 during working hours (Mon–Sat, 10:00 AM–7:00 PM).
Frequently asked questions
Is 12A registration the same as 80G approval? +
No. Registration (Section 12A / 12AB, now Section 332) makes the organisation’s own income exempt, subject to conditions. Approval (Section 80G, now Section 354) lets its donors claim a deduction. Both can be sought in the same Form 104 or Form 105, but each is a separate grant with its own validity.
Can a Section 8 company get 12A and 80G registration? +
Yes. A company registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 is listed in Section 332(1)(c) and can apply on the same basis as a trust or society.
What is provisional registration? +
A registration granted to a new entity whose activities have not started. It is granted without inquiry into activities and is valid for three tax years. Once activities start, the application for regular registration is due within six months of their commencement; if activities have still not started, the application is due at least six months before the provisional registration expires.
What happens if Form 113 is not filed? +
Donors cannot get the deduction because it is matched with the statement, the organisation pays a fee of Rs 200 per day under Section 429, and a penalty of Rs 10,000 to Rs 1,00,000 can be levied under Section 464.
Questions about 12A and 80G Registration?
You may contact CA Gaurav Singh to discuss your specific facts and requirements.
Contact the Firm →