Closer tax scrutiny on charitable trusts, research bodies

Income-tax returns of charitable trusts and research institutions that have wrongfully claimed exemptions, as well as entities and individuals that have had repeated additions to their liability, will be automatically selected for scrutiny this year.

- Gireesh Chandra Prasad

The latest guidelines of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) mandate senior field officers to issue notices on such income-tax returns (ITRs) until 30 June.

The guidelines are part of the direct taxes authority's efforts to improve compliance. The annual exercise is even more important this year as the government seeks to curb evasion and shore up tax revenue after forgoing ₹1 trillion in the annual budget to provide relief to the middle class.

According to data available from the CBDT, more than 314,000 associations of persons or trusts filed tax returns in 2023-24.

Queries emailed to the CBDT seeking comments remained unanswered until the time of publishing.

Charitable and religious trusts, as well as research institutions, claiming tax exemption under the Income Tax Act's Section 11 must register again. The changes in law introduced from 1 April 2021 seek to improve compliance and avoid roving enquiries into their affairs.