The Central Board of Direct Taxes, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, has issued Circular No. 06/2026 dated July 02, 2026 on the subject of condonation of delay in filing Form No. 10AB electronically for approval under clause (ii) of the first proviso to Section 80G(5) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The circular has been issued under F. No. 300176/3/2026-ITA-I.
Section 80G of the Income-tax Act, 1961 provides for deduction in respect of donations made to certain funds and institutions. For availing approval under clause (ii) of the first proviso to Section 80G(5), a fund or institution whose approval under Section 80G(5) is due to expire is required to furnish an application in Form No. 10AB electronically at least six months before the expiry of the approval period.
The Board received representations from certain funds and institutions whose approval was expiring on 31.03.2026 and who could not file Form No. 10AB by the prescribed due date of 30.09.2025. These institutions represented that the delay occurred due to bona fide reasons and other circumstances, resulting in genuine hardship in respect of receipt of donations.
After examination of the matter, CBDT has decided to mitigate genuine hardship by condoning the delay in filing Form No. 10AB in cases where the prescribed application was furnished electronically during the period from 01.10.2025 to 31.03.2026. This condonation has been granted in exercise of powers under Section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, read with Section 536(2) of the Income Tax Act, 2025.
The circular further authorises the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner of Income-tax or Commissioner of Income-tax to dispose of such applications on merits and pass an order on or before 31.12.2026.
CBDT has also clarified that where an application in Form No. 10AB filed electronically between 01.10.2025 and 31.03.2026 has already been rejected as on the date of issue of the circular solely on the ground that it was filed beyond the prescribed time limit of 30.09.2025, the delay shall be deemed to have been condoned in such cases. Such applications will also be disposed of on merits by the jurisdictional authority by 31.12.2026.
However, the circular makes it clear that the condonation of delay does not confer any automatic entitlement to approval under Section 80G(5) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 or Section 133(1)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 2025, as the case may be. Each application will be considered and decided on merits by the competent authority.
The Circular can be accessed at: https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/documents/d/guest/circular-no-06-2026-pdf
