NPO Tax Registration / 12A / 12AB / 80G – Current Guide

This knowledge centre keeps the familiar search terms 12A / 12AB / 80G while explaining the current NPO tax-registration pathway under the Income-tax Act, 2025 and Income-tax Rules, 2026. Use the current form applicable to the organisation’s stage and tax year.

Choose the correct route

Documents and information to organise

• Entity registration certificate and constitutional document
• PAN and complete e-Filing profile
• Founder / trustee / governing-person details
• Registered-office information
• Activity reports and supporting evidence
• Accounts, audit reports and financial statements as applicable
• Bank details and donation-related records where relevant
• Earlier tax registration / approval orders and URNs
• Any rejection, cancellation, surrender or hearing history
• Object amendments and supporting resolutions, where applicable

Practical process

1. Identify whether the organisation is seeking provisional or regular registration/approval.
2. Check whether the application is for NPO registration, donation-related approval, or both.
3. Verify the current section code, tax year, due date and filing type on the e-Filing portal.
4. Reconcile constitutional objects, actual activities and financial records before filing.
5. Upload only consistent, readable and relevant documents.
6. Track e-Proceedings and respond to any clarification/hearing request with a structured evidence file.
7. After approval, preserve the order/URN and update future returns, donation reporting and audit records correctly.

Important transition note

Older documents and search queries may still refer to section 12A/12AB, 80G, Forms 10A/10AB, 10AC/10AD and related terminology under the Income-tax Act, 1961. Those records can remain important for earlier periods and transition history. For a current filing, use the live Income Tax Department instructions for the applicable Act, tax year and form.

Official sources

Frequently asked questions