Income Tax exemption of activist Harsh Mander’s NGO cancelled
New Delhi: The Income Tax Department has cancelled the registration of the Aman Biradari NGO, founded by human rights activist Harsh Mander, under s. 12A of the Income Tax Act. This revocation means the organisation will no longer be exempt from paying income tax, Mander told Scroll on Wednesday.
Mander stated that the tax authorities had first issued a notice regarding the cancellation three months ago, to which the NGO responded about one-and-a-half months back. However, he added that the department’s order did not address any of the points raised by the organisation to explain its stance.
The department cited two primary reasons for the cancellation. First, it alleged that Aman Biradari failed to provide the permanent account numbers (PAN) of certain individuals who donated to its crowdfunding drive during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Mander, the funds collected through the drive were used to provide food for underprivileged people during the pandemic. He claimed that the NGO was not legally required to provide PAN details at that time.
The second reason cited was that creating communication material on interfaith harmony was not among the stated objectives of the NGO when seeking exemption under s. 12A. Mander, however, stated that interfaith harmony was clearly listed as one of the objectives of Aman Biradari.
Despite the order, Mander affirmed that the organisation would continue its activities. “We have worked with many violence-affected individuals, including survivors of the 2020 Delhi violence and the ethnic conflict in Manipur. We will not let this hinder our work,” he said.
Aman Biradari is described as a campaign for a secular, peaceful, just, and humane society. In March, the Union Home Ministry recommended a CBI investigation into alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) by the NGO. Earlier in February, the CBI filed an FIR against Mander and the Centre for Equity Studies, another trust linked to him, for alleged violations of FCRA norms.
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Neeraj Chopra wins Golden Spike meet
Ostrava (Czech Republic), Jun 24 (PTI): Indian javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra on Tuesday clinched the title at the Golden Spike meet in his maiden appearance here, his back-to-back win in a top-class competition.
Fresh from his Paris Diamond League win on June 20, Chopra emerged on top in a nine-man field here though with a modest effort of 85.29m in the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event.
He had skipped the last two editions of Golden Spike -- an event that his coach Jan Zelezny won nine times in a storied career -- due to fitness issues.
The 27-year-old Chopra has had an impressive season so far, having won his first Diamond League title in two years in Paris after also breaching the elusive 90m mark during his second place finish in Doha DL in May.
