Form 10BE

A donor claiming a Section 80G deduction cannot simply say they gave money. They need documentary proof, in a specific form, from the NPO itself. That proof is Form 10BE.

The workbook lists it as one of the compliance obligations an NPO takes on once it registers under Section 12AB: "Issue certificate to the donor in Form 10 BE."

It sits alongside the NPO's other post-registration duties — keeping proper books, filing its own return on time and having accounts audited, and furnishing details under Rule 18AB of the Income Tax Rules for each financial year.

The workbook places Form 10BE as the last of four post-registration compliance duties an NPO must meet once registered under Section 12AB:

1. Maintain proper books of accounts and other prescribed documents.
2. File its income tax return within the prescribed time, with accounts audited by a Chartered Accountant.
3. Strictly follow the guidelines subject to which registration was granted.
4. Furnish required details under Rule 18AB of the Income Tax Rules for each financial year.
5. Issue a certificate to the donor in Form 10BE.

Form 10BE functions as the donor's evidence trail: without it, a donor's Section 80G claim has no supporting document from the NPO's side. It connects the NPO's own furnishing obligation under Rule 18AB (reporting donation details to the tax authority) with the donor-facing certificate the donor actually needs to hold when filing their own return.

Illustrative figures.

Mrs Kulkarni donates ₹1,00,000 to Prerna NPO, registered under Section 12AB, with a valid 80G approval. To claim her deduction when filing her own income tax return, she needs Form 10BE from Prerna NPO, showing her donation amount, date and Prerna's registration details.

Prerna NPO, for its part, must also furnish the underlying donation details to the tax authority under Rule 18AB for that financial year — Form 10BE to the donor and the Rule 18AB furnishing to the tax department are two sides of the same reporting obligation, one facing the donor and one facing the government.

If Prerna fails to issue Form 10BE, Mrs Kulkarni has no NPO-issued proof to support her 80G claim, even though her donation itself, and Prerna's registration, are both genuine and valid.

Chapter 10, section 10.3, lists Form 10BE as the fifth post-registration compliance obligation for an NPO under Section 12AB. Expect a question on what Form 10BE is (a donor certificate) and which rule requires the underlying furnishing to the tax authority (Rule 18AB).

• Form 10BE is issued by the NPO to the donor — it is not a form the donor files themselves; it is the supporting document the donor needs when filing their own return to claim an 80G deduction.
• Rule 18AB (furnishing to the tax authority) and Form 10BE (certificate to the donor) are two connected but distinct obligations — a question may test either half separately.
• Issuing Form 10BE is a post-registration compliance duty under Section 12AB, alongside proper books, timely return filing and an audit — it is not a one-off, optional courtesy to donors.
• Do not confuse Form 10BE with the SSE's own reporting Form 1A, Form 1B, Form 2.1 or Form 3.1 — those are Social Stock Exchange disclosure formats under SEBI's LODR Regulations; Form 10BE is an Income Tax Act donor certificate, governed by a completely separate regulator and rule.