INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL DELHI BENCH “C”: NEW DELHI BEFORE SHRI CHALLA NAGENDRA PRASAD, JUDICIAL MEMBER AND SHRI M. BALAGANESH, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER (Assessment Year: 2024-25)

Richmond Educational Society, Vs. DCIT/ ACIT, D-104, Sector-41, Noida, Uttar Central Circle, Pradesh Ghaziabad (Appellant) (Respondent)

PAN: AABTR0992D Assessee by : Shri Gaurav Jain, Adv Shri Tarun Channa, Adv Revenue by: Ms. Kranti, CIT DR Date of Hearing 30/01/2026 Date of pronouncement 11/03/2026 O R D E R PER M. BALAGANESH, A. M.:

1. This is an appeal preferred by the Assessee against the order passed by the Learned Principal Commissioner of Income Tax(Central), Kanpur [hereinafter referred to as the PCIT] dated 26-6-2025 under section 12AB(4)(ii) of the Income Tax ACT, 1961 [hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act’] cancelling the registration of the Assessee Society granted under section 12AA/12AB of the Act for the AYs 2019-20 to 2024-25 and for subsequent assessment years.

2. The Ground No.1 raised by the Assessee stating that the Assessee Society had not committed any specified violation at all and hence cancellation of registration was unwarranted.

The Ground No.2 raised by the Assessee is challenging the action of the Learned PCIT (Central), Kanpur passing the order cancelling the registration instead of PCIT (Exemptions).

The Ground No.3 raised by the Assessee is challenging the action of the Learned PCIT’s jurisdiction to cancel the registration of the Assessee Society retrospectively.

The Ground No. 4 raised by the Assessee is challenging the action of the Learned PCIT in assuming jurisdiction based on reference made by the Learned Assessing Officer who had made such reference without recording any satisfaction note as prescribed under the second proviso to section 143(3) r.w.s. 12AB(4)(b) of the Act.

The Ground No. 5 raised by the Assessee is challenging the retrospective application of second proviso to Section 143(3) of the Act wen the same was inserted by the Finance Act 2022 with effect from 1.4.2022 and hence the same could not have been initiated for Assessment Years 2017-18, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23.

The Ground Nos. 6 to 9 raised by the Assessee are challenging the observations made by the Learned PCIT on merits to conclude that the Assessee had committed specified violation so as to warrant cancellation of registration.

The Ground Nos. 10,11 and 13 raised by the Assessee are only supplementing Ground No.1.

The Ground No. 12 raised by the Assessee is supplementing the Grounds

6 to 9 raised by the Assessee on merits.

The Ground No. 14 raised by the Assessee is general in nature and does not require any specific adjudication.

3. We have heard the rival submissions and perused the materials available on record. The Assessee is a registered charitable society established on 14-08-2006 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 with the primary and predominant object of imparting education. Imparting education falls within the definition of charitable purpose under section 2(15) of the Act. The society was duly granted registration under section 12AA of the Act on 25-08-2009 by the Commissioner of Income Tax, Ghaziabad, which was further granted registration under section 12AB of the Act on 5-4-2022 for assessment years 2022-23 to 2026-27 in accordance with the amended provisions of the Act. The society had managed and operated three educational institutions imparting quality education to students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, namely –

a) The Millennium School, Sector 41, Noida b) The Sriram Millennium School, Sector 135, Noida and c) The Millennium School, Meerut

4. A search and seizure operation under section 132 of the Act was conducted on 11-07-2023 in the case of PTC group companies. A consequential search was also carried out in the case of the Assessee Society. The claim of the Assessee is that no incriminating material or evidence was found during the course of the search action on the Assessee Society so as to cast any do