90% of charitable societies in Bihar may lose registration

ONLY A FRACTION OF THEM HAVE COMPLIED WITH DIRECTIVE TO FILE THEIR ANNUAL STATEMENTS AND BALANCE SHEETS FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS, SAID OFFICIALS.

- Ruchir Kumar

Nearly 90% of the 44,000 charitable societies registered in Bihar risk deregistration after September, as only a fraction of them have complied with the state government's directive to file their annual statements and balance sheets for the past five years, said officials.

According to the prohibition, excise and registration department, only about 5,000 charitable societies — around 11% of the total — have so far submitted the requisite data, despite the government extending the deadline until September this year.

Initially, all registered societies were directed in February to submit their records by March 31, but the time frame was revised after requests from chartered accountants who argued that annual balance sheets are generally prepared around September for the previous financial year.