What is Form 10AC?
Form 10AC is the order by which the income-tax authority grants, or refuses, registration or approval of a charitable or religious trust or institution. It is not the form the trust fills in. The application is Form 10A, and a later application, where the rules require one, is Form 10AB.
Which form is the application?
Form 10A is the application for registration under section 12AB, and for a provisional registration. Form 10AB is the application the rules prescribe when a provisional registration has to be made regular, or when the registration has to be renewed. An acknowledgement of either application is not Form 10AC. The order is issued after the authority has examined the application.
What does the order do?
It records that the trust is registered, or that the application is rejected, and the section under which that is done. Income of a registered trust can be exempt where the conditions in sections 11 and 12 are met, including that the income is applied to the objects. The trust still keeps accounts and files a return. A trust that claims the exemption files ITR-7.
How long does registration last?
For the period the order states. It is not an indefinite exemption from the old section 12A practice. The Finance Act, 2025 allows a longer registration for a smaller trust, where the income before sections 11 and 12 stays within the limit that Act sets. That change is on the Budget 2025 page. The authority can cancel the registration if the conditions fail.
What does the order not do?
It does not approve donations under section 80G. It does not incorporate a section 8 company. A section 8 licence and this order are separate. The order is downloaded from the trust’s account on the e-filing portal after it is issued. It is not a blank form on a public forms page.
Frequently asked questions
Four questions cover the application, donor deductions, the period, and a section 8 company.
Is Form 10AC the application for registration?
No. The trust applies in Form 10A, or in Form 10AB where the rules require that later application. Form 10AC is the order the authority issues.
Does Form 10AC give donors a deduction?
No. A deduction for the donor needs approval under section 80G. Registration of the trust is a separate order.
Is the registration permanent?
No. It is granted for the period the section provides. It can be cancelled if the conditions are not met.
Does a section 8 licence issue Form 10AC?
No. A section 8 company is incorporated under the Companies Act. Registration under the Income-tax Act is a separate application.
Sources
Registration of a charitable trust is sections 12A and 12AB. The order is issued on the e-filing portal.