For a trust, society or Section 8 company, credibility is currency — and it's built on compliance kept current. The good news: the calendar is compact and predictable once you see it whole.
The registrations that underpin everything
- 12A / 12AB — income-tax registration that makes your income exempt when applied to your objects. Granted for fixed terms and renewed periodically.
- 80G — lets donors claim a deduction; runs on the same renewal cycle as 12AB.
- CSR-1 — registers you with the MCA to receive corporate CSR funds.
- FCRA — required before any foreign contribution, with its own designated bank account, separate books and returns.
- NITI Aayog (Darpan) Unique ID — the gateway to government grants and a prerequisite for several of the above.
The annual rhythm
- Maintain books through the year — and a separate set for foreign contributions where FCRA applies.
- Get the accounts audited and file the income-tax return (ITR-7) on time — timely filing is now part of the exemption itself.
- File the statement of donations and issue donor certificates, so your 80G donors get their due.
- File the FCRA annual return where foreign contributions are received.
- Complete ROC filings (Section 8 company) or the governing-body filing (society).
The dates that quietly expire
The trap for long-running institutions isn't the yearly return — it's the periodic renewal of 12AB and 80G, and (in several states) of the society registration itself. Because office-bearers change, these are easy to miss, and a lapsed registration can switch off your exemption or your donors' deduction overnight. Diarise them well ahead.
A few watch-points
- Apply most of your income (broadly 85%) to your objects each year; accumulate the rest only within the limits and with the prescribed intimation.
- Keep activities within your stated objects — income from outside them can be taxed as business.
- Anonymous donations beyond the prescribed limit attract tax at the maximum rate.
- The organisation must deduct TDS on its own payments, and mind the cash-transaction limits.
Kept on a calendar, none of this is heavy — and it's exactly the rhythm we carry for the institutions we serve, so the trustees can keep their attention on the mission. (For the fuller picture, see our guide for charitable organisations.)
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