Form 10BD — Statement of Donations Under Section 80G

Form 10BD — Statement of Donations Under Section 80G and How to File It

Form 10BD is the Statement of Donations that every Section 80G-approved charitable institution must file with the Income Tax Department each year. Introduced by the Finance Act, 2021 with effect from Assessment Year 2022-23, Form 10BD fundamentally changed how Section 80G donation deductions work in India. Before Form 10BD, donors could claim Section 80G deductions based on any donation receipt issued by the charitable institution. From AY 2022-23 onwards, donors can claim Section 80G deductions only on the basis of Form 10BE — the official donation certificate that a charitable institution can issue only after filing Form 10BD. This shift placed the compliance obligation squarely on the charitable institution rather than the donor.

N D Savla & Associates, Chartered Accountants based in Mumbai, provides complete Form 10BD preparation and filing services for charitable trusts, NGOs, religious institutions, research bodies, and other Section 80G-approved organisations. We assist institutions in collecting and verifying donor data, preparing the statement of donations in the prescribed format, filing Form 10BD on the income tax portal, generating Form 10BE donation certificates for each donor, and rectifying any errors or omissions in filed statements. We also provide complete Form 10B and Form 10BB audit and filing services, covering the complete annual compliance cycle for charitable trusts under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The compliance impact of Form 10BD on charitable institutions is significant. A charitable trust that fails to file Form 10BD cannot issue valid Form 10BE donation certificates to its donors. Donors who donated expecting a Section 80G deduction cannot claim it in their income tax return without Form 10BE. This means Form 10BD non-compliance is not just the institution's problem — it directly harms every donor who gave to the organisation during the year. For institutions that rely on public donations, this is a reputational and fundraising risk of the first order. Filing Form 10BD accurately and on time — by May 31 of the assessment year — is therefore both a legal obligation and a trust-building commitment to donors. All Form 10BD filings are done electronically through the income tax portal at incometax.gov.in.

What Is Form 10BD Under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act?

Form 10BD is the Statement of Donations received during the financial year by a charitable institution that has obtained approval under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. It is a donor-wise, donation-wise statement that the institution files on the income tax portal, listing each donor's name, PAN or Aadhaar, address, donation amount, mode of payment, and the section under which the donation is eligible for deduction. Form 10BD replaced the earlier system of self-generated donation receipts that institutions issued independently, without any centralised reporting to the Income Tax Department.

The Form 10BD framework introduced a critical element of verification into Section 80G donation deductions: since the institution must now report each donation to the Income Tax Department before issuing a Form 10BE certificate, the donation data in the donor's income tax return can be verified against the institution's Form 10BD filing. This cross-verification — similar to how TDS data in Form 26AS is verified against the income tax return — makes Section 80G deduction claims more transparent and auditable than at any point in the history of Indian charitable giving.

Form 10BD and Form 10BE — How They Work Together

Form 10BD and Form 10BE are two sides of the same compliance framework:

• Form 10BD: Filed by the charitable INSTITUTION on the income tax portal. Contains details of all qualifying donations received during the financial year. Due by May 31 of the assessment year.
• Form 10BE: The donation CERTIFICATE issued by the institution to each donor. Generated from the institution's Form 10BD data on the income tax portal. Sent or made available to the donor. Donor uses Form 10BE to claim the Section 80G deduction in their income tax return.
• The sequence is mandatory: Form 10BD must be filed FIRST; Form 10BE can be downloaded and issued to donors only AFTER Form 10BD is successfully submitted. There is no other valid route to Section 80G deduction for the donor from AY 2022-23 onwards.

Why Was Form 10BD Introduced? — The 2021 Reform

Before the Finance Act, 2021 introduced Form 10BD, the Section 80G deduction system had significant weaknesses. Charitable institutions issued their own donation receipts in any format, with no standardisation and no reporting to the Income Tax Department. Donors claimed Section 80G deductions based on these receipts, and neither the Income Tax Department nor the charitable institution had any cross-verification mechanism. This allowed for: bogus donation receipts for non-existent donations to claim fraudulent deductions; deductions claimed on donations to institutions that had lost their Section 80G approval; and significant underreporting of donation income by institutions. Form 10BD addressed all of these weaknesses by creating a centralised, institution-reported, portal-based donation reporting system.

Who Must File Form 10BD?

Form 10BD must be filed by every charitable institution that has been granted approval under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act and that has received qualifying donations during the financial year. The filing obligation is on the INSTITUTION, not on the donor. The following categories of institutions must file Form 10BD:

Section 80G-Approved Charitable Institutions

Every charitable trust or institution that has obtained approval under Section 80G(5)(vi) of the Income Tax Act — entitling donors who donate to it to claim Section 80G deductions in their income tax returns — must file Form 10BD for every financial year in which it receives qualifying donations. This includes NGOs, charitable hospitals, educational institutions, relief funds, and other Section 80G-approved bodies. Section 80G approval must be current and valid for the year in question; an institution with a lapsed or cancelled Section 80G approval cannot issue Form 10BE even if it files Form 10BD. Institutions that also file Form 10B or Form 10BB for their income tax exemption must also file Form 10BD separately for Section 80G compliance — these are independent, non-overlapping filing obligations.

Research Associations and Institutions Under Section 35

Research associations, scientific research institutions, universities, and colleges that are approved under Section 35(1)(ii), Section 35(1)(iia), or Section 35(1)(iii) of the Income Tax Act — and whose donors are eligible to claim a weighted deduction (currently 100% of donation) under Section 35 — must also file Form 10BD for donations received towards scientific research activities. The Form 10BD for Section 35 donations contains the same donor details as for Section 80G donations, but identifies the applicable section correctly.

What If the Institution Has Section 80G Approval But Received No Donations?

If a Section 80G-approved institution did not receive any qualifying donations during the financial year — for example, a newly registered trust or an institution that relies primarily on government grants rather than public donations — it is not required to file a NIL Form 10BD. The Form 10BD filing obligation arises only when qualifying donations are actually received. However, institutions should confirm this position with their CA each year, particularly given that the Income Tax Department's compliance portal may flag non-filing for known Section 80G-approved entities.

What Information Must Be Reported in Form 10BD?

Form 10BD is a detailed, donor-wise statement. For every qualifying donation received during the financial year, the institution must report the following information accurately. Errors in any field affect the donor's ability to claim the Section 80G deduction.

Donor Identification Details

For each donor, Form 10BD requires:

• Full name of the donor as per PAN records or Aadhaar
• PAN of the donor (mandatory for all donors who are Indian residents or entities; without PAN, the donation is not eligible for Section 80G deduction)
• Aadhaar number (where available, as an alternative or in addition to PAN)
• Complete address of the donor including city, state, and PIN code
• Mobile number and email address of the donor (to enable the institution to send Form 10BE)

Donation Details for Each Contribution

For each donation from each donor, Form 10BD requires:

• Date of receipt of the donation
• Amount of the donation in Indian Rupees
• Mode of payment: cash / cheque / demand draft / electronic transfer / in-kind
• Nature of donation: corpus donation (intended to form part of the trust's corpus) / specific grant (for a defined purpose) / other donation (general)
• Section under which the deduction is eligible: Section 80G(2)(a)(i) to (vii), Section 35(1)(ii), Section 35(1)(iia), Section 35(1)(iii), or another applicable sub-section
• The eligible deduction amount (which equals the donation amount for most donations, but may differ for donations claimed under qualifying-limit provisions)
• Whether the donation is eligible for 100% or 50% deduction under the applicable provision

The Rs. 2,000 Cash Donation Restriction Under Section 80G(5)(d)

One of the most important data points in Form 10BD is the mode of payment. Under Section 80G(5)(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, no deduction under Section 80G is available to a donor for any donation of more than Rs. 2,000 made in cash. This means:

• Cash donations of Rs. 2,000 or less: eligible for Section 80G deduction (included in Form 10BD)
• Cash donations above Rs. 2,000: NOT eligible for Section 80G deduction (should not be included in Form 10BD or must be excluded from eligible amount)
• Cheque, demand draft, NEFT, IMPS, UPI, online transfer: eligible regardless of amount

Institutions must therefore maintain a clear record of the mode of payment for every donation received. Including cash donations above Rs. 2,000 as eligible donations in Form 10BD is incorrect and can result in donors claiming deductions they are not entitled to, with consequential income tax demands on those donors when the Income Tax Department processes their returns.

Form 10BE — The Donation Certificate That Enables Section 80G Deduction

Form 10BE is the donation certificate that the charitable institution issues to each donor after filing Form 10BD. It is the official, Income Tax Department-recognised proof of donation that the donor must possess to claim the Section 80G deduction in their income tax return.

How Form 10BE Is Generated and Issued

After the institution files Form 10BD on the income tax portal at incometax.gov.in, the portal automatically generates Form 10BE certificates for each donor whose data is correctly entered in Form 10BD. The institution can download Form 10BE for each donor from the portal and share it with the donor — by email, WhatsApp, post, or any other mode. The donor's Form 10BE shows their name, PAN, donation amount, eligible deduction amount, the institution's Section 80G registration number, and the financial year to which the donation belongs. The Form 10BE number (acknowledgement) is used by the donor to claim the Section 80G deduction in their ITR.

What the Donor Does With Form 10BE

From AY 2022-23 onwards, a donor who wishes to claim a Section 80G deduction must enter the Form 10BE details in Schedule 80G of their income tax return. The donor does not need to upload Form 10BE as an attachment — they enter the institution's name, PAN, Section 80G registration number, amount of donation, and the Form 10BE reference number in the ITR. The Income Tax Department's processing system cross-checks this data against the institution's Form 10BD filing. If the donation is reported in Form 10BD, the deduction is validated. If not — because the institution has not filed Form 10BD or has filed it incorrectly — the donor's Section 80G deduction claim may be disallowed, resulting in an income tax demand or a Section 143(1)(a) prima facie adjustment notice.

Rectification of Form 10BD Errors After Filing

If Form 10BD is filed with errors — wrong PAN, incorrect donation amount, wrong mode of payment, or omission of a donor — a revised Form 10BD can be filed to correct the errors. The revised Form 10BD cancels and replaces the original for the affected entries. After the revised Form 10BD is processed, corrected Form 10BE certificates are generated for the affected donors. This rectification process ensures that errors in the original filing can be corrected before donors file their income tax returns, preventing Section 143(1)(a) notices to donors for incorrect deduction claims. Institutions should file Form 10BD as early as possible to allow time for rectification before donors file their own returns.

Due Date and Filing Process for Form 10BD

The May 31 Deadline

Form 10BD must be filed on or before May 31 of the assessment year following the financial year in which the donations were received. For donations received during Financial Year 2023-24 (Assessment Year 2024-25), Form 10BD is due by May 31, 2024. This is a significantly earlier deadline than the October 31 due date for Form 10B / 10BB — giving institutions roughly two months after the end of the financial year to collect all donor data, prepare the statement, and file it. Starting the Form 10BD data collection process by March itself — before the financial year ends — is strongly advisable for institutions with large donor bases.

Step-by-Step Filing Process for Form 10BD

1. Compile the Complete Donor Database for the Financial Year. Collect the names, PANs, Aadhaar numbers, addresses, and email/mobile details of every donor who donated to the institution during the financial year. Cross-verify each PAN against the donor's name using the income tax portal's PAN validation tool to prevent name mismatches that invalidate the Form 10BE. Categorise each donation by mode of payment (cash / cheque / electronic), nature (corpus / specific / general), and applicable section (80G / 35).
2. Identify and Exclude Ineligible Donations. Remove from the Form 10BD data: cash donations above Rs. 2,000 (ineligible under Section 80G(5)(d)); anonymous donations where donor PAN is not available; donations received from non-eligible sources such as foreign nationals where the institution's Section 80G approval does not cover such donations; and in-kind donations where the eligible deduction amount is disputed.
3. Prepare the Form 10BD Data in Prescribed Format. Organise the donor data in the Excel or CSV format prescribed for Form 10BD bulk upload on the income tax portal. The portal accepts bulk uploads for institutions with large donor bases, eliminating the need to enter each donation manually. For institutions with a small number of donors, online entry on the portal is possible.
4. File Form 10BD on the Income Tax Portal. Upload the prepared statement, validate the entries, and submit Form 10BD on the institution's income tax portal account within the May 31 due date.
5. Download and Distribute Form 10BE Certificates. After Form 10BD is processed (typically within a few days of filing), log in to the income tax portal and download Form 10BE for each donor. The portal provides Form 10BE downloads in bulk or donor-by-donor. Send Form 10BE to each donor before they file their income tax return. For individual donors filing ITR-1 or ITR-2, the April–July period is when they typically file their returns — so distributing Form 10BE soon after the May 31 filing date is important.
6. File Revised Form 10BD If Required. If any donor notifies the institution of a discrepancy in Form 10BE, or if the institution discovers an error in the original Form 10BD after filing, file a revised Form 10BD to correct the specific entries. Revised Form 10BD can be filed after the original and corrects only the affected entries. Updated Form 10BE certificates are generated automatically for affected donors after the revised filing is processed.
7. Retain Form 10BD Records for Assessment. Keep the filed Form 10BD, the generated Form 10BE certificates, donation receipts, and the supporting donor data on record so the institution can substantiate every reported donation if the Income Tax Department raises a query.

How Section 80G Deduction Works for Donors — A Clear Overview

Understanding the Section 80G deduction framework helps charitable institutions communicate the tax benefit of donation to their donors accurately. The deduction percentage and whether a qualifying limit applies depends on which institution the donor gives to and which sub-section of Section 80G applies:

Category A — 100% Deduction Without Qualifying Limit

Donations to specified national funds and institutions are eligible for 100% deduction without any qualifying limit:

• Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF)
• National Defence Fund
• Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES)
• Chief Minister's Relief Fund or Lieutenant Governor's Relief Fund (with prior CBDT approval)
• National Foundation for Communal Harmony
• Central Government-approved university / educational institution of national eminence
• Zila Saksharta Samiti for literacy in districts
• National Blood Transfusion Council / State Blood Transfusion Council
• National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities

Category B — 50% Deduction Without Qualifying Limit

Donations to the following institutions are eligible for 50% deduction without any qualifying limit:

• Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund
• Prime Minister's Drought Relief Fund
• Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust
• Rajiv Gandhi Foundation

Category C — 100% Deduction Subject to Qualifying Limit of 10% of Adjusted GTI

Donations to the Government or local authority for the purpose of family planning, and to Indian Olympic Association or other notified sports bodies, are eligible for 100% deduction subject to the qualifying limit. The qualifying limit means the total deduction under this category and Category D together cannot exceed 10% of the donor's adjusted gross total income.

Category D — 50% Deduction Subject to 10% Qualifying Limit

Most Section 80G-approved charitable institutions fall in this category — donations to them are eligible for 50% deduction subject to the qualifying limit of 10% of adjusted gross total income. This is the category most commonly applicable to NGOs, educational societies, hospitals, and religious institutions that have obtained Section 80G approval. When a charitable institution files Form 10BD and issues Form 10BE in this category, the donor can claim 50% of the donation amount as deduction, subject to the 10% of income ceiling.

Section 80G Approval — The Prerequisite for Form 10BD Filing

A charitable institution can file Form 10BD and issue Form 10BE only if it has valid, current Section 80G approval from the Income Tax Department. Understanding the Section 80G approval framework is essential for institutions that have recently obtained approval or need to renew their approval:

The New Section 80G Approval Framework (Post-2020)

Like the Section 12AB registration overhaul covered on our Form 10B page, the Finance Act, 2020 also reformed Section 80G approval. From AY 2022-23 onwards, Section 80G approvals are granted for a period of 5 years (provisional approval) or for subsequent periods (final approval), rather than perpetually. All existing institutions with perpetual Section 80G approval under the old framework had to re-apply for fresh approval under the new framework. Institutions that did not re-apply have lapsed Section 80G approval and cannot issue valid Form 10BE certificates to donors.

How to Verify Current Section 80G Approval Status

An institution can verify its current Section 80G approval status on the income tax portal at incometax.gov.in by searching for the institution's PAN under the registered institution database. Donors should also verify Section 80G approval of institutions before donating to ensure their donation qualifies for a deduction. An institution with lapsed or cancelled Section 80G approval cannot issue valid Form 10BE certificates, and any deduction claimed on such donations by donors will be disallowed by the Income Tax Department.

Consequence of Filing Form 10BD Without Valid Section 80G Approval

If an institution files Form 10BD without having valid, current Section 80G approval for the relevant financial year, any Form 10BE generated and issued will be invalid. Donors who claim Section 80G deductions based on such certificates will face income tax demands when the Income Tax Department's processing system verifies the institution's approval status. The institution itself may face penalties under Section 271K.

Common Form 10BD Errors That Create Problems for Donors

Based on our experience assisting charitable trusts with Form 10BD, the following are the most common filing errors, each of which can result in a donor's Section 80G deduction being disallowed:

• Including cash donations above Rs. 2,000 as eligible donations — these are excluded from Section 80G eligibility but are frequently included in error
• Incorrect PAN of donor — a single digit error in PAN means Form 10BE is generated for a non-existent or wrong donor, and the actual donor cannot claim the deduction
• PAN-name mismatch — the donor's name in Form 10BD does not match the PAN database; the portal validates PAN-name combinations and flags mismatches
• Missing donors — failing to include all qualifying donations, leaving some donors without Form 10BE
• Wrong financial year — reporting a donation in the wrong year's Form 10BD
• Wrong eligible deduction percentage — reporting 100% when 50% applies or vice versa, leading to donors claiming incorrect deduction amounts
• Corpus donations reported as general donations — corpus donations are not eligible for Section 80G deduction (since they are permanent endowments, not contributions toward charitable activities); including them in Form 10BD is incorrect
• Late filing beyond May 31 — donors who file their income tax returns before the institution files Form 10BD cannot claim the Section 80G deduction in their return (they would need to file a revised return)
• Not distributing Form 10BE to all donors in time — even if Form 10BD is correctly filed, donors who do not receive Form 10BE before they file their ITR cannot include the deduction

How Section 80G Donation Reporting Has Evolved in India

Pre-2021 — Self-Generated Receipts and No Centralised Reporting

Before the Finance Act, 2021, a Section 80G-approved charitable institution issued its own donation receipt to donors in whatever format it chose. The receipt showed the institution's name, Section 80G registration number, date of donation, and amount. Donors claimed Section 80G deductions by attaching or referencing these receipts in their income tax returns. There was no obligation to report donation data to the Income Tax Department. This system enabled widespread abuse: fake donation receipts, deductions for non-existent donations, and Section 80G deductions on donations to institutions that had lost their approval.

2021 — Finance Act Introduces Form 10BD and Form 10BE

The Finance Act, 2021 introduced Section 80G(5)(vii) requiring charitable institutions to furnish a statement of donations in the prescribed form and in the prescribed manner. CBDT notified Form 10BD as the prescribed statement and Form 10BE as the prescribed certificate, effective from AY 2022-23 (FY 2021-22 donations). This was a landmark reform — for the first time, the Income Tax Department had a centrally reported, institution-submitted database of Section 80G donations that could be cross-verified against donor income tax returns.

2022 Onwards — AIS Integration and Donor Return Cross-Verification

From AY 2022-23 onwards, Form 10BD data filed by institutions is reflected in the Annual Information Statement (AIS) of the respective donors. When a donor opens their AIS on the income tax portal, they can see all Section 80G donations attributed to them by Form 10BD filings of institutions they donated to. The donor's income tax return is then cross-checked against this AIS data. Donations that appear in AIS but are not claimed in the return generate a prompt on the portal; deductions claimed in the return but not supported by Form 10BD data are flagged for scrutiny.

Why Choose N D Savla & Associates for Form 10BD Filing?

Form 10BD filing requires a combination of donor data management, income tax portal expertise, Section 80G law knowledge, and attention to detail that most charitable institution administrators do not have in-house. N D Savla & Associates provides the complete Form 10BD compliance service:

End-to-End Donor Data Management

We assist institutions in building and maintaining a proper donor database: collecting PAN, Aadhaar, and address details from donors; validating PAN-name combinations on the income tax portal before filing; categorising each donation by mode, nature, and applicable section; and identifying ineligible donations (cash above Rs. 2,000, anonymous donations, corpus donations) before they create errors in Form 10BD. Our Virtual CFO service includes year-round donor database maintenance for charitable organisations, making Form 10BD preparation a straightforward year-end exercise rather than a scramble in April-May.

Complete Form 10BD Preparation and Portal Filing

We prepare the Form 10BD data in the prescribed format, validate all entries before filing, file Form 10BD on the institution's income tax portal account, download Form 10BE certificates for all donors, and assist in distributing them. Our experience with bulk Form 10BD filings for institutions with hundreds of donors means we have efficient processes for data preparation, PAN validation, bulk upload, and certificate distribution.

Rectification and Error Correction Service

If the original Form 10BD contains errors — discovered by a donor who cannot find their Form 10BE, or by the institution's own review — we prepare and file revised Form 10BD entries, obtain corrected Form 10BE certificates, and communicate corrections to affected donors. Timely rectification before donors file their income tax returns prevents Section 80G deduction disallowances and the associated donor relations issues.

Complete Trust Compliance Integration

Form 10BD compliance is part of a broader charitable trust compliance ecosystem. N D Savla & Associates provides the complete ecosystem — Income Tax Audit of trust accounts, Form 10B or Form 10BB filing, ITR-7 filing, Form 10 accumulation notice, TDS compliance, Section 12AB registration, and Section 80G approval renewal — all coordinated by a single team that understands the institution's complete compliance position.

Frequently Asked Questions About Form 10BD