Glossary
12A
Income Tax Act registration that makes a nonprofit's own income tax-exempt.
12A is a registration under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 that recognises an entity as a not-for-profit and exempts its own income from income tax — provided the income is applied to the entity's charitable objects. Since 2020, all fresh and existing registrations are issued under the combined 12AB framework: fresh registrations are provisional for three years, then re-granted for five. A registered entity must re-apply for renewal six months before expiry.
12A registration is a hard prerequisite for almost every Indian funder that lists NGOs — foundations, CSR arms and government schemes alike — because without it the funder cannot treat the grant as a charitable disbursement.
It is separate from 80G: 12A benefits the NGO, 80G benefits the donor. Most NGOs hold both.