🔍 Overview

• Legal Basis: Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (Section 354 of the Income Tax Act, 2025)

• Purpose: Provides tax relief to donors donating to 80G/354 registered NGOs.

• Effect: Enhances the credibility of NGOs and incentivises donations.

🔑 Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for provisional 80G/354 registration, an NGO must:

• Be legally registered in India as a Trust, Society, or Section 8 Company (Foreign NGOs are not eligible for 80G/354 registration).

• Have not commenced charitable activities after registration (If your NGO has already started charitable activities, then it is not eligible for provisional 80G/354 registration and must apply directly for final 80G/354 registration).

• Hold a valid 12AB registration (You can't have 80G/354 registration in the absence of 12AB registration).

• Have charitable objectives only (religious NGOs are not eligible for 80G/354 registration).

• Not have been registered for providing benefits to any particular community or caste.

🚫 You are not eligible for CSR Funding and Government projects without 80G/354 registration.

📅 Validity

Though the provisional 80G/354 registration has a validity of 3 years, you are mandated to apply for the final 80G/354 registration within six months of the commencement of charitable activities. If you don't do so, you will have to apply for condonation of delay while filing for the final 80G/354 registration.

⚠️ Drawbacks

After taking provisional 80G/354 registration, you become time-bound as you have to mandatorily apply for the final 80G/354 registration within six months of the commencement of charitable activities, no matter what your financial condition is, whether you have a record of enough charitable activities or not.

📌Point to be noted

If you decide not to apply for provisional 80G/354 registration and instead decide to proceed directly for final registration after commencing charitable activities, you must note a critical compliance point: once charitable activities begin, your NGO becomes ineligible for provisional approval. In such circumstances, you will be required to establish a track record of at least 4–5 months of charitable work and then wait an additional 5–6 months for scrutiny and approval of the final registration application. This results in a total waiting period of approximately 11–12 months from the commencement of activities before obtaining 80G/354 registration.

💰 What do you get from us

• Provisional 80G/354 registration

• Training notes

• Format of donation receipt 

• Format of membership application form

• Format of membership certificate

• Activity report format

• Cash book