Maharashtra extends deadline for submission of audited accounts by charitable trusts to December 31, 2024

Maharashtra extends deadline for submission of audited accounts by charitable trusts

The Finance Ministry of Maharashtra state has decided to extend the deadline for filing of audited accounts by specified trusts who are registered under the Maharashtra Public Trust Act (earlier known as Bombay Public Trust Act). The deadline has been extended to December 31, 2024, for FY 2023-24. The state government announced the extension in a circular dated November 26, 2024.

In Maharashtra, trusts are required to file audited statements of accounts with the assistant charity commissioner's office if their annual income exceeds a specified limit. Once the accounts are prepared, they need to be audited by a chartered accountant. It can be uploaded/ filed on the charity.maharashtra.gov.in website only after this auditing is complete.

This deadline for filing audited accounts is being extended for Trusts for the second time for FY 2023-24 in Maharashtra

The original deadline for filing audited accounts by specified trusts was six months from the end of the 2023-24 financial year i.e. September 30, 2024. However, it was extended to November 30, 2024, and now it is being again extended to December 31, 2024.

Chartered Accountant Mihir Tanna, associate director, S.K Patodia and LLP, says, "As per Section 34(1A) of Maharashtra Public Trust Act, trustees of public trust are required to file a copy of audited final accounts with the charity commissioner. The original due date of filing was September 30, 2024."

"Trusts registered under the Bombay Public Trusts Act with an annual income exceeding Rs 15,000 are required to have their accounts audited and filed with the Charity Commissioner annually," says Chartered Accountant Jigar Suba owner of J C Suba & Associates, a Mumbai based firm of chartered accountants.

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What happens if specified trusts don't file accounts by December 31, 2024

Suba says that non-filing of audited accounts can result in a monetary penalty. However, even more painful than the penalty is that legal proceedings can be initiated against the trust under the Bombay Public Trusts law.

"There are three repercussions of not filing audited accounts on time: legal action, penalty and risk of cancellation of the trust's registration in case of persistent non-compliance. A fine of up to Rs 1,000 may be imposed for failing to file accounts within the due date. It should also be noted that trustees may face disqualification, and legal proceedings may be initiated under the Bombay Public Trusts Act," says Suba.

Kinjal Bhuta, Secretary - Bombay Chartered Accountants’ Society (BCAS) says: "If the Trust does not file their accounts by 31st December, Trustees shall be required to file an affidavit for the delay in submission of such accounts, addressing the reasons for such delay within a reasonable time, it may not affect their registration in such a case. The registration can be terminated in cases where the Trust does not file the accounts at all, however due opportunity may be given before such cancellation."

Sudhir Kaushik, Co-founder & CEO, Taxspanner, says, "If trusts don't file it by December 31st (or further extended date, if any) and default in filing audited accounts continues, the charity commissioner can order suspension, removal or dismissal of any trustee of the public trust. The due date was earlier extended from September 30 to November 30 and has now been further extended to December 31. This shows the department is giving sufficient opportunity before strict action."

When Bhuta from BCAS was asked whether a extension was necessary, she said: "Yes, such an extension was necessary this time as the official website of Charity Commissioner was not functioning properly since several days and there were no timely response/communication from the Charity office regarding the Login ID / Password queries raised by many trusts. This extension gives a chance to trusts who could not complete filings due to such technical issues."

Chartered Accountant Chirag Chauhan says the existing mechanism of submitting audited accounts for trusts needs to be changed. “In the present state, we have to submit the audit report online and then print out its acknowledgement. After this the acknowledgement needs to be signed and submitted offline at the government office. Once the acknowledgement is submitted and stamped then we need to upload this acknowledgement again on the online portal. Hence the reason why I feel the government should make the entire process online to save taxpayers and chartered accountant’s time.”