The assessee is in appeal from the order of the Tribunal at Annexure-P. The assessee admittedly is a Convent, which is under the Generalate of the Sacred Heart Congregation of the Syro Malabar Church. The constitution of the Generalate speaks of a specific hierarchy with the Generalate as the apex body, Provinces below the Generalate and then the Region and the last unit being the Convents, called the “House”. The appellant is a 'House' coming within the constitution of the Generalate. The appellant applied for a registration under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 [for brevity “IT Act”]. The same was declined by Annexure-K order. The Commissioner of Income Tax, who considered the application, directed the Income Tax Officer, Ward 1, Thiruvalla to conduct an enquiry. The Income Tax Officer in his report dated 09.06.2011 stated that the applicant is not a separate entity, but one of the Convents under the Generalate. The Income Tax Officer did not recommend the registration under Section 12A, which was accepted by the Commissioner.
