12A and 80G are the two income tax registrations that make an Indian NGO financially viable. 12AB registration exempts the organisation’s own income; 80G approval gives its donors a deduction. Both are applied for in a single Form 10A filing, and 12AB is a mandatory prerequisite for 80G. Under the framework introduced by the Finance Act, 2020, registration runs as provisional for three years, then regular for five years, renewable — perpetual registration no longer exists. There is no government fee. Three things that most guidance gets wrong, and which are dealt with below, are the true deadline for Form 10AB, the fact that 80G is unavailable to donors on the new tax regime, and the exit tax on accreted income that a lapse can trigger.
Vakilkaro simplifies 12A and 80G registration online in India with complete end-to-end expert assistance. India’s non-profit sector depends on these two registrations more than on any other compliance: together they determine whether an organisation keeps what it raises and whether donors have any reason to give.
Our team of Chartered Accountants and tax professionals handles both registrations together — activity report drafting, a single Form 10A filing, departmental follow-up, certificate download, and the Form 10AB regular registration, renewals and Form 10BD donor reporting that follow — at a transparent and affordable fee with no hidden charges.
Introduction
What is 12A and 80G Registration in India?
These are the two certifications the Income Tax Department grants to eligible non-profit organisations — trusts, societies and Section 8 companies.
12AB registration exempts the organisation’s income from tax, provided the income is applied to its charitable or religious objects. The organisation keeps what it raises rather than paying tax on its surplus.
80G approval allows a donor who contributes to the organisation to claim a deduction from taxable income, which reduces the after-tax cost of giving and makes the organisation materially more attractive to individual, HUF and corporate donors.
Together they form the backbone of NGO tax compliance in India, and both are required for CSR funding and for most government grant schemes. The first makes the organisation’s income tax-free; the second makes the organisation fundable.
A note on terminology. Everyone calls it “12A registration”, and that’s still a perfectly good way of describing it. However, the operative provision now is Section 12AB which has been introduced by Finance Act, 2020 replacing the earlier regime under Sections 12A and 12AA. The forms are 10A and 10AB and there is no more perpetual registration.
Why are 12A and 80G Certificates Important?
Income tax exemption on income applied to the objects, so every rupee raised goes to the work
Donor incentive through the 80G deduction, changing the effective cost of giving
CSR funding eligibility — the CSR Rules require an implementing agency to hold both 12AB and 80G registration. This is a legal condition, not a corporate preference
Government grant eligibility, where valid registration is the standard screening filter
FCRA support — while the FCRA does not itself prescribe 12AB, the Ministry of Home Affairs examines income tax compliance, and an application without registration is materially weaker
Credibility with donors, banks, regulators and CSR committees
Compliance standing under the Income Tax Act
Difference between 12A and 80G Registration
12A, 12AA and 12AB — What the Finance Act, 2020 Changed?
Two consequences follow, and both are where organisations lose their exemption. First, there is now a hard deadline where none existed before — and it is not the one most people think it is, as explained below. Second, a lapse is no longer a neutral event; it can crystallise a charge on the organisation’s entire accumulated asset base.
New Registration vs Migration of Existing Registrations
The important distinction. A new organisation with no track record receives provisional registration for three years first. An existing organisation migrating from the old regime is not treated as provisional — it receives a five-year registration directly, because it already has a demonstrated history. Guidance suggesting that legacy organisations must go through the three-year provisional stage is incorrect.
Failure to migrate means loss of exemption. An organisation that held permanent registration under the old regime and never re-registered no longer has valid registration, however long it has held its original certificate.
Eligibility
Who is Eligible for 12A and 80G Registration?
Public charitable trusts registered under the applicable state trust law or with the Sub-Registrar
Societies registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860
Section 8 companies incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013
Religious institutions established for religious, or religious and charitable, purposes
Educational institutions operating on a genuine non-profit basis
Medical institutions run for charitable purposes
NGOs in any of the above legal forms
Who cannot. A sole proprietorship, partnership firm, HUF, LLP, private limited company or public limited company cannot obtain either registration. The organisation must first be constituted in an eligible form.
Conditions that must be satisfied
Established for charitable or religious purposes as defined in the Act
Income applied to the objects and not distributed as profit
No part of the income or property applied for the private benefit of a founder, substantial contributor, trustee or their relatives beyond reasonable remuneration for services actually rendered
Proper books of account maintained and audited
ITR-7 filed annually, even while exempt
Any business income incidental to the objects, with separate books maintained
For 80G specifically — not established for the benefit of a particular religious community or caste, and religious expenditure within the prescribed proportion of total income
Registration subject to periodic renewal through Form 10AB
A point on charitable purpose that determines your risk profile. The definition covers relief of the poor, education, yoga, medical relief, preservation of the environment, preservation of monuments, and the advancement of any other object of general public utility. The first several are specific purposes in their own right. The last limb is subject to a statutory restriction: where the organisation carries on activity in the nature of trade, commerce or business for a fee, the purpose is not charitable unless that activity is in the course of actually advancing the object and receipts from it stay within the prescribed proportion of total receipts. Which limb your objects fall under should be decided at drafting stage.
Benefits
Benefits of 12A and 80G Registration
Financial
Complete exemption of income applied to the objects
Donor deduction under 80G, increasing both the number and the size of donations from eligible donors
CSR funding access, subject to the CSR Rules conditions
Government grants from central and state schemes
International funding through FCRA, where the compliance record supports the application
Ability to accumulate surplus for future programmes without immediate tax
Operational
Enhanced credibility with donors, banks, government agencies and international bodies
Better financial planning and long-term sustainability
Competitive advantage over unregistered organisations in the same space
A realistic note on CSR. Holding both registrations is necessary but not by itself sufficient. Under the CSR Rules, an implementing agency must hold 12AB and 80G and must additionally be either established by the funding company or its group, or under an Act of the legislature, or have an established track record of at least three years in similar activities. A newly registered organisation should therefore obtain CSR-1 registration, build and document the record, and plan its first three years around other funding.
Documents
Documents Required
Self-certified copy of the trust deed, Memorandum and Articles, or society memorandum and rules
Self-certified copy of the registration certificate from the Sub-Registrar, Registrar of Societies or Registrar of Companies
PAN of the organisation
Audited accounts for the last three financial years, where applicable
Detailed note on activities — specific, evidenced description of the charitable work
List of trustees, directors or governing body members with PAN, Aadhaar and addresses
Income and expenditure details for the past three years
Bank account details with a cancelled cheque
Form 10A, completed and verified
Digital Signature Certificate or electronic verification code
Existing 12A or 80G certificate, for migration and renewal applications
FCRA registration details, where held
The activity note decides the application. The commissioner is trying to determine whether the objects are authentic and if the activities relate to them. A general statement will give rise to a question, while a particular one backed up by evidence will not. It must state what the organization does, where it does so, for who, on what scale and with how many beneficiaries.
Step-by-step Process
The Registration Procedure
- Step 1: Log in to the Income Tax e-filing portal using the organisation’s PAN.
- Step 2: Navigate to e-File, then Income Tax Forms, then File Income Tax Forms.
- Step 3: Select Form 10A, choosing the appropriate section codes so that both 12AB registration and 80G approval are applied for in the same filing.
- Step 4: Complete the application with the organisation’s details, registration particulars, objects, nature of activities, governing body details and financial information.
- Step 5: Upload the documents in the prescribed formats.
- Step 6: Verify using the Digital Signature Certificate or electronic verification code of the authorised signatory.
- Step 7: Submit and record the acknowledgement number.
- Step 8: Departmental review. The Principal Commissioner or Commissioner examines the objects, the genuineness of activities and compliance with the conditions, and may issue a notice.
- Step 9: Provisional registration granted in Form 10AC, valid for three years.
- Step 10: Apply for regular registration in Form 10AB within the prescribed window. On approval, regular registration is granted in Form 10AD, valid for five years.
Online vs Offline Application
The offline route no longer exists. All applications, notices, responses and certificates run through the portal.
The Form 10AB Deadline — The Point Most Organisations Get Wrong
This deserves its own section, because it is the single most common way a valid registration is lost, and almost every published guide states it incorrectly.
The application for regular registration in Form 10AB must be made:
within six months of commencement of activities, OR at least six months before the provisional registration expires — WHICHEVER IS EARLIER.
Most guidance states only the second limb — “six months before expiry” — which suggests an organisation has around two and a half years to prepare. It is the first limb that usually applies. An organisation that obtains provisional registration on formation and begins programme work within a few months has a window measured from the commencement of activities, not from the end of the three-year period.
The practical consequences:
An organisation that starts work promptly must file Form 10AB within the same year, not in year three
Filing late means the provisional registration lapses, with all that follows
Reapplying after lapse is materially harder than renewing in time, and creates a gap in which no donor can claim
Revalidation and the Certificate of Revalidated Registration
Revalidation is the five-yearly renewal of regular registration, filed in Form 10AB at least six months before expiry, for both 12AB and 80G together.
Documents required
Updated audited financial statements for the preceding three years
Detailed activity reports evidencing charitable work actually carried out — programme reports, beneficiary records, photographs
Updated trustee, director or governing body list with current KYC
Updated bank details
Compliance declarations
Review. The application will be reviewed by the Commissioner, who may require additional information or verification.
The certificate. On approval, a fresh order is issued digitally through the portal, downloadable as a PDF, stating the validity period of five years and carrying the Unique Registration Number. That number must appear on donation receipts and official communications, and is what donors and CSR committees use to verify the organisation on the portal.
Consequence of non-revalidation. Automatic loss of exemption, loss of 80G with it, and potential exposure to the accreted income charge.
Time and Cost
Timeline and Cost for 12A and 80G Registration
Planning point. File for both registrations as soon as the entity is registered and before fundraising begins. Donations received before the registration takes effect do not carry an 80G deduction for the donor, and an organisation that raises first and registers later has to explain that to its earliest and often most loyal supporters.
Our combined package covers document review and compilation, activity report drafting, a single Form 10A filing for both 12AB and 80G, departmental follow-up and response to notices, certificate download, Form 10BD and 10BE setup, and the Form 10AB deadline calendar — with no hidden charges.
Fees
Registration Fee
There are no costs incurred for any of the two registrations. The cost incurred here is for the note on the activity that determines the application, the review of documents that ensures the application is not rejected, the response to any notice from any government departments, the timely filing of Form 10AB, and the Form 10BD process every year.
Validity and Renewal
Provisional registration — 3 years, in Form 10AC
Regular registration — 5 years, in Form 10AD
Migrated registration — 5 years from re-registration
Renewal — Form 10AB, at least 6 months before expiry
Post-renewal validity — a further 5 years
Failure to renew — automatic loss of exemption, loss of 80G, and possible exit tax on accreted income
What Happens if Registration Lapses — Exit Tax on Accreted Income
This is the most serious consequence of the current regime and is absent from almost all published guidance.
Where registration is cancelled, or where the organisation converts into a form not eligible for registration, merges with a non-eligible entity, or fails to transfer its assets on dissolution to another registered charitable organisation within the prescribed period, a charge arises on its accreted income — broadly, the fair market value of total assets less total liabilities on a specified date.
It is charged at the maximum marginal rate
It is in addition to ordinary income tax for the year
It applies to the value accumulated over the organisation’s entire life, not merely the year’s income
The principal officer and the trustees can be held liable where the organisation does not pay
It applies whether or not the organisation continues to operate
An organisation holding land, buildings or an endowment should understand this exposure clearly. Letting a registration lapse through inattention is not simply a return to taxable status going forward — it can crystallise a very substantial charge on decades of accumulated assets.
It also explains why the dissolution clause in a trust deed or Memorandum matters: assets must pass to another organisation with similar objects holding valid registration, within the prescribed period.
The 80G Deduction — What Donors Actually Get?
Section 80G provides for four categories:
100% deduction without any qualifying limit — specified national funds such as the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and the National Defence Fund
50% deduction without any qualifying limit — certain specified funds
100% deduction subject to the qualifying limit — certain specified institutions and notified purposes
50% deduction subject to the qualifying limit — this is the category into which ordinary charitable trusts, societies and Section 8 companies fall
The correction that matters most. For an ordinary approved NGO the donor’s deduction is 50%, subject to a qualifying limit of 10% of adjusted gross total income. The 100% categories are specific notified funds. Telling a donor to expect 100% from an ordinary NGO donation is a promise that fails at the point of filing.
Worked example. A donor with gross total income of ₹12 lakh donates ₹2 lakh to an approved trust:
Qualifying limit = 10% of ₹12 lakh = ₹1,20,000
50% of the donation = ₹1,00,000
Deduction allowed = the lower = ₹1,00,000
Tax saved at 30% = ₹30,000
Effective cost of the donation = ₹1,70,000
Two further rules. Cash donations above ₹2,000 do not qualify at all. Donations in kind — goods, equipment, materials, property — do not qualify for 80G, though they may still be valid CSR expenditure for a corporate.
The New Tax Regime Problem
This is the most important recent development affecting 80G fundraising, and it changes how an NGO should communicate with donors.
Section 80G is not available under the new tax regime. The new regime under Section 115BAC is now the default for individuals and HUFs, and does not permit most Chapter VI-A deductions including 80G. A donor who has not actively opted into the old regime — which most salaried taxpayers have not — gets no tax benefit whatsoever from an 80G donation.
The pitch “donate and save tax” no longer works for a large and growing share of individual donors
Donors who do benefit are those on the old regime, typically because housing loan interest or other deductions make it worthwhile
Companies are unaffected by Section 115BAC — but a company that has opted into the concessional corporate tax regime is likewise restricted from claiming most Chapter VI-A deductions including 80G, so a corporate donor’s position must be checked rather than assumed
Why 80G remains essential regardless. It is a mandatory condition for CSR eligibility under the CSR Rules, it is a screening filter for government grants, it is a credibility signal in diligence, and it continues to provide a real benefit to old-regime individual donors and to many corporate donors. The difference is that fundraising needs to be driven by impact and compliance credibility while accurately portraying the deduction available to donors on the old regime.
Form 10BD and Form 10BE — Donor Reporting
This is now the operative control on the whole 80G system.
Form 10BD — Statement of Donations. Every 80G-approved organisation must file, by 31 May each year, a statement reporting every donor and every donation received in the preceding financial year, with the donor’s name, address and identification particulars including PAN or Aadhaar.
Form 10BE — Certificate of Donation. Having filed Form 10BD, the organisation must issue each donor a certificate in Form 10BE, generated from the portal, by the same date.
The consequence.A donor cannot claim the 80G deduction unless the donation appears in the organisation’s Form 10BD filing. The claim is validated from that filing. A manual receipt issued at the time, however properly stamped and signed, is no longer sufficient on its own.
What this means operationally
Collect the donor’s PAN or Aadhaar at the time of donation — without it the donation cannot be reported and the donor cannot claim
Maintain donor-wise records throughout the year, not reconstructed in May
Late filing attracts a fee for each day of default, and inaccurate reporting a separate penalty
This is the most damaging compliance failure an 80G organisation can make, because it harms the donor directly. A donor who cannot claim a deduction he was promised rarely gives again.
Requirements
The 85% Application Requirement and Investment Modes
Registration is the entry condition. Application of income is the ongoing condition, and it is what preserves the exemption year by year.
At least 85% of income must be applied to the objects during the financial year
Up to 15% may be accumulated without condition
Accumulation beyond 15% is permitted for a specified purpose for up to five years, but only if Form 10 is filed within the prescribed time and the amount is invested in the modes specified under Section 11(5)
Amounts accumulated but not applied within the permitted period become taxable
Corpus donations must be invested and held in the specified modes; application out of corpus counts as application only when restored to the corpus
Application is on a payment basis — treated as applied in the year actually paid
A donation to another registered organisation counts as application only to the prescribed extent, and cannot be given towards the recipient’s corpus
Investment modes. Accumulated funds and corpus must be held only in the modes specified under Section 11(5) — bank and post office deposits, Central and State Government securities, specified institutions, immovable property and other prescribed modes. Equity shares, most mutual funds and private company debentures fall outside the list, and investing there can jeopardise the exemption regardless of the returns achieved. This is where well-run organisations most often go wrong, usually on a bank relationship manager’s advice.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Misreading the Form 10AB deadline — it is the earlier of six months from commencement of activities and six months before expiry
Assuming registration is permanent — it has not been since 2020
Not migrating an old permanent registration to the new regime
Selecting the wrong form — 10A for the first provisional registration, 10AB for regular registration and every renewal
A vague activity note — the leading cause of query and rejection
PAN and name mismatch across the PAN, the constitutional document and the application
Unaudited or outdated financial statements
Not filing Form 10BD by 31 May, depriving donors of their deduction
Not collecting donor PAN at the point of donation
Promising donors a 100% deduction when the ordinary position is 50% subject to the qualifying limit
Not explaining the new tax regime position, leaving new-regime donors to discover at filing that they can claim nothing
Accepting cash donations above ₹2,000 and issuing 80G receipts for them
Issuing 80G receipts for donations in kind, which do not qualify
Not filing Form 10 where accumulation exceeds 15%
Investing outside the Section 11(5) modes
Applying income for the benefit of trustees or specified persons beyond reasonable remuneration
Operating outside the stated objects
Not filing ITR-7 on the view that exempt income needs no return
Assuming CSR eligibility on registration without the three-year track record
Compliance
Post-Registration Annual Compliance
Which audit form applies.Form 10B where total income exceeds the prescribed higher threshold, or foreign contribution was received, or income was applied outside India; Form 10BB otherwise. The applicable form should be checked each year rather than carried forward — filing the wrong one is treated as a failure to furnish the report.
Other ongoing obligations
Maintain proper books of account and donor-wise records
Apply at least 85% of income to the objects
Invest only in the permitted modes
TDS compliance on salaries, professional fees, rent and contractor payments, with TAN and quarterly returns
Keep activities within the stated objects
Why Choose Vakilkaro?
Single application for both — 12AB and 80G filed together in one Form 10A, saving time and cost
Expert activity report drafting — the factor that most determines approval for both registrations
Document review before submission, preventing the rejections caused by mismatched names, incomplete certification and unaudited accounts
Current framework expertise — Section 12AB, Forms 10A, 10AB, 10AC and 10AD, the migration route for legacy registrations, and the correct Form 10AB deadline including the limb most organisations miss
Form 10BD and 10BE systems — donor data capture at the point of donation, annual filing by 31 May, and certificate issue so your donors can actually claim
Renewal calendar — every deadline diarised from the day the certificate is issued
Honest donor communication — accurate positioning of the 50% deduction, the qualifying limit, the new tax regime position and the CSR reality, so your fundraising promises hold
Structural advice — the 85% requirement, Section 11(5) investment modes, specified persons and the accreted income exposure, addressed before they become assessment issues
Post-registration compliance — ITR-7, Form 10B or 10BB, Form 10, FCRA returns and TDS
NIL government fee and transparent professional charges
Pan-India service to trusts, societies, Section 8 companies, and educational, medical and religious institutions
Contact Vakilkaro today and get both registrations done together — because every NGO deserves tax-free income and every donor deserves the benefit they were promised.