What are 12A and 80G registration for trusts?

What is 12A/12AB registration?

Section 12A/12AB registration exempts a charitable or religious organisation's own income from tax under sections 11 and 12 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Section 11 and section 12 give the exemption; section 12A sets the condition that the organisation must be registered to get it, and section 12AB is the procedure the Commissioner follows to grant, renew or cancel that registration.

The registration attaches to the entity, not to a single year. A public charitable trust, a society, or a section 8 company can all hold it. The older sections 12A and 12AA governed registration before 1 April 2021; from that date the reworked section 12AB regime moved every trust onto a fixed-term registration applied for through the e-Filing portal.

What is 80G approval?

Section 80G approval lets a donor claim a deduction for a gift made to the approved institution, under section 80G of the Income-tax Act, 1961. It does not exempt the institution's income. That is the job of section 12A/12AB. Section 80G works on the giving side: an individual or company that donates to an 80G-approved fund reduces its own taxable income by the allowed portion of the donation.

The deduction is 50 percent or 100 percent of the donation, depending on the fund named in section 80G, and donations to ordinary approved institutions are also capped at a qualifying limit of 10 percent of adjusted gross total income. An institution needs its own 80G approval number before a donor can claim anything, which is why a trust usually seeks 12A/12AB and 80G together.

What are Form 10A and Form 10AB?

Form 10A is the application for fresh or provisional registration, and Form 10AB is the application for renewal or conversion, both filed on the income tax e-Filing portal. Under the section 12AB regime, and the parallel first and second provisos to section 80G(5), these two forms carry every 12A/12AB and 80G request. There is no paper route: the application, the digital signature or e-verification, and the order all move through the portal.

Provisional or regular registration?

Provisional registration is a shorter first grant for a trust that has not yet started its charitable activities, while regular registration is the full five-year grant for an active trust. A new trust that applies in Form 10A before it begins work receives provisional registration under section 12AB, valid for three assessment years. Once it has started its activities, it applies again in Form 10AB for regular registration.

A trust that is already carrying on its activities can apply directly for regular registration in Form 10AB rather than taking the provisional step first. The distinction matters because the three-year provisional grant cannot simply lapse into a five-year one. The conversion application in Form 10AB is a separate filing with its own deadline.

How long does 12AB registration last?

Provisional registration lasts three years and regular registration lasts five years under section 12AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Section 12AB(1)(b) directs the Commissioner to register an eligible trust for a period of five years, and provisional registration under the same section is granted for three assessment years. Section 80G approval follows the identical clock: three years provisional, five years regular.

Because no grant is permanent, the renewal date is the number that matters most in practice. Miss it and the exemption under sections 11 and 12 stops applying, which turns the trust's income taxable until a valid registration is back in force.

When must you file Form 10A?

The application windows are set by clause (ac) of section 12A(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and each situation has its own deadline. The standing rule for a renewal or a provisional-to-regular conversion is to apply at least six months before the current registration expires. The rule for a brand new provisional application is to apply at least one month before the previous year from which registration is sought begins.

Section 80G approval carries matching windows through the first and second provisos to section 80G(5), so a trust that holds both should diarise both renewal dates on the same six-month lead.

How do donors verify an 80G number?

A donor verifies an 80G claim through the donation certificate in Form 10BE, which carries the institution's 80G unique registration number. Rule 18AB of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 requires the approved institution to report each donation to the department in Form 10BD, and that filing generates the Form 10BE certificate the donor receives. The deduction is claimed in the return from that certificate.

• Ask the institution for the Form 10BE certificate for the financial year of the donation.
• Check that the certificate shows a valid 80G unique registration number and the correct amount.
• A receipt with no unique registration number is not enough. The deduction can be disallowed without the Form 10BE backing it.

How do 10A and 10AB extensions work?

A live extension of the Form 10A or Form 10AB filing date is granted by a CBDT circular issued under section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and it always carries a circular number, a date and the exact period it covers. CBDT has extended these dates several times since the section 12AB regime began in 2021, usually to give trusts that missed the migration or conversion window a fresh chance to file.

Treat any claimed extension as valid only when you can match it to the numbered circular. A forwarded message or a screenshot with no circular number is not an extension. The pattern repeats: when the department wants to relax a Form 10A or 10AB deadline, it does so by a section 119 circular, and that circular is what you rely on, not the rumour of it.

How do you confirm this officially?

1. Read section 12A and section 12AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961 on the India Code for the registration conditions and the three-year and five-year periods.
2. Read the Income Tax Department's own section 12AB page for the order-issuing procedure and the section 12A(1)(ac) windows.
3. File and track Form 10A and Form 10AB on the e-Filing portal, where the order in Form 10AC or Form 10AD is also issued.

The successor statute uses different numbers for the same scheme. If you are working under the Income-tax Act, 2025, registration moves to section 332 and the tax of a registered non-profit organisation to section 334, with the donation deduction at section 133.

Why do 12A and 80G filings fail?

• Treating the three-year provisional grant as if it renews itself, and missing the Form 10AB conversion deadline six months before it expires.
• Assuming 12A registration also covers donors. It does not. The donor deduction needs separate section 80G approval.
• Not filing Form 10BD for the year, so donors never receive the Form 10BE certificate and lose the 80G deduction.
• Claiming a Form 10A extension from a forwarded message with no CBDT circular number under section 119 behind it.
• Changing the trust's objects and not filing Form 10AB within 30 days as clause (v) of section 12A(1)(ac) requires.

Where are 12A and 80G changes notified?

Changes to the section 12AB regime, the Form 10A and Form 10AB dates, and the section 80G rules move through CBDT circulars and notifications. Complied AI keeps CBDT updates in one feed so you can open the circular or notification behind a change. When the structure of the approval is the question rather than a specific change, the section 8 company guide covers the not-for-profit form that most often holds these registrations.