Donation statements and certificates (formerly Form 10BD and 10BE)

If your NGO is approved for donors’ deduction, it must report the donations it receives to the Income Tax Department every year and give each donor a certificate. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025 the statement is Form 113 (formerly Form 10BD) and the certificate is Form 114 (formerly Form 10BE). The first Form 113, for tax year 2026-27, is due by 31 May 2027.

These filings matter more than they look. A donor’s deduction is allowed only on the basis of what the NGO reports, so a late or wrong statement costs your donors their deduction and costs you a fee. This guide explains what to file and by when, the details to collect from donors, the two ways to issue certificates, how to correct mistakes and what late filing costs. It is for NGO finance teams, fundraisers and their accountants.

What the law requires

The statement and the certificate are conditions of the NGO’s approval under Section 354 (formerly section 80G(5)), and the donor’s deduction depends on them.

The duty applies to every NGO with a current Section 354 approval, including an approval granted under section 80G(5) of the 1961 Act that hasn’t expired. If your approval has lapsed, donors can’t claim for gifts made after it ended, whatever you file. See tax deductions for donors for the donor’s side.

The forms and the deadlines

Form 113 is filed for each financial year starting from tax year 2026-27. The e-filing portal’s manual treats 31 May after the tax year as the cut-off: that is also when unused pre-acknowledgement numbers expire. Check the portal each spring in case the date is extended.

Two ways to issue certificates

The portal offers two routes.

After the year ends. You file Form 113 listing every donation, and the portal generates a Form 114 certificate for each donor, usually within 24 hours. You download them as PDF files in a ZIP folder and send them to your donors.

During the year. You generate pre-acknowledgement numbers (Pre-ARNs) on the portal, up to 1,000 in a tax year according to the manual, and use them to issue a Form 114 receipt at the time of each gift. After the year ends, you report every Pre-ARN donation in Form 113 by 31 May. Pre-ARNs not included by then expire.

What to collect from each donor

Collect these details when the gift is made, not in May:

Personal data needs care. Collect only what the statement needs, keep it secure and tell donors why you are asking: see data protection for NGOs. A donor’s address must never appear on a public page or a donor wall.

Which donations go in the statement

The statement is the basis of every donor’s claim, so it should list each identified donation that a donor may claim. A few points:

• Cash and kind. The form records the mode, including cash and kind, but donors still get no deduction for cash gifts above ₹2,000 or for gifts in kind (Section 133(4) and (5)).
• Corpus donations are a separate type. The donor’s written direction that the gift is for the corpus is what makes it one: see corpus and anonymous donations.
• CSR money has its own type. Companies often ask for a certificate for their CSR contributions, though whether they can claim a deduction for them is contested.
• Anonymous donations can’t be reported, because the statement needs a donor’s identity. They have their own tax rules.
• Foreign donors can be identified by a foreign tax number. Foreign contribution needs FCRA registration or prior permission before you accept it.

Correcting mistakes

Mistakes happen: a wrong PAN digit, a misspelt name, an amount typed twice. The law requires a correction statement where one is needed (Section 354(1)(f)). On the portal you file a revised Form 113 and mark each entry to be revised or deleted.

Correct errors as soon as you find them, and before your donors file their returns, so their claims match. Common errors to check before you file:

• PANs that don’t match the donor’s name;
• the same gift reported twice, once through a Pre-ARN and again in the year-end list;
• CSR or corpus gifts entered as ordinary donations;
• gifts received in late March or early April put in the wrong year.

Late fees and penalties

• Late fee (Section 429, formerly section 234G): ₹200 for every day the statement or certificates are late, up to the amount of the donations involved. It must be paid before the statement can be filed.
• Penalty (Section 464, formerly section 271K): ₹10,000 to ₹1,00,000 for failing to file the statement or furnish the certificates.

A yearly routine

The statement also feeds your audit: the auditor reports on corpus, anonymous and foreign donations in the audit report (Form 112). See filing the return and audit report.

Common mistakes

• Collecting PANs at the last minute, when donors are hard to reach.
• Using the wrong form for the year: Form 10BD for 2025-26 donations, Form 113 from 2026-27.
• Treating your own receipt as the certificate. Donors need Form 114.
• Printing “80G” on receipts after the approval has lapsed.
• Missing the deadline, which costs ₹200 a day and delays every donor’s certificate.