Shri D.N. Kar was born in the year 1964 in Odisha. After completing his Post Graduation in Political Science from Utkal University, Bhubaneshwar, he completed his M.Phil Degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and obtained LLB Degree from Delhi University.

His professional career began as an officer in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited. He then joined Indian Revenue Service in 1988. After probation, he was posted as Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax in Vishakapatnam. He has held several posts including that of Joint Commissioner of Income Tax, Additional Commissioner of Income Tax to Salary Range, Business Range, and Corporate Range. He also worked as a Departmental Representative in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. In 2009, he was promoted as Commissioner of Income Tax and presently is the Director of Income Tax (Exemptions), Chennai.

Shri D.N. Kar has been invited as a speaker for many trainings and conferences organised within and outside the department. He is a recipient of several awards including ‘Distinguished Citizen Award’ from American Biographical Institute. He has also received cash award from Income Tax Department for conducting quality search and seizure operations and unearthing black money.

He is associated with various social, cultural, and sports bodies and is the Secretary General of Korfball Federation of India, a National Sports Federation.

In an exclusive interview, Shri D.N. Kar tells Marie Banu the need for more NGOs in our society today.

It has been estimated that there is 1 NGO for every 400 people in India. What are your thoughts on this?

Out of the applications that I have received for registration, I find that over 40 to 50 percent of them are religious Trusts, mostly Christian Trusts founded by Pastors and Reverends. They register a Trust even for the sake of erecting one church and do not engage in much charitable activities.

About Charitable Trusts, there aren’t too many! Out of that, many are in the education sector. People think that there is a lot of money in this sector as education is allowed under charitable activities.

I will not say that there are too many NGOs. I think that there are not many who are actually doing good work! Because, despite having several NGOs, we still have issues like poverty, disease, etc. I would say that we still need NGOs, in fact genuine ones!

How many NGOs get registered in Chennai Income Tax office in a month?

I look after whole of Chennai city and five adjacent districts—Vellore, Kanchipuram, Chengalpet, Thiruvannamalai.  Every month, on an average, I receive 100 applications for new registrations and about 50 applications for 80G approval.

Chennai has a large constitution of NGOs. Historically, Chennai has been a city where large number of people are inclined towards charity or religion. Also, due to the fact that most of the Founders / Authors of the Trust reside in Chennai.  People who have migrated from villages 50 to 60 years ago, feel that it is time to give back something to the society/village where they hail from. They register a Trust in Chennai and engage in charitable activities in villages that are located far away.

How does a person choose between the 3 Non-Profit organisations—Trust, Society or Section 25 company— to register?

For convenience of registration and managing it, I would say that formation of a Trust is easiest in comparison to Society or Section 25 Company.

Registering a Society would be a better option if more people are involved and it is going to be run more democratically. Because, once you register as a Society, you will have to follow the rules and regulations of the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975. This casts a lot of responsibilities on the members like periodical elections, proper maintenance of accounts, documents to be filed with Registration of Societies, etc. All this will lead to better governance.  

Many people form Trusts as they want to make it more family oriented and managed only by their kith and kin. This is a kind of scenario where not many outsiders are involved.

Section 25 Company is most regulated, as the compliance under Companies Act is heavier than Registration of Societies Act and have better governance norms.

About social enterprises. How best can they be registered?

A social enterprise whether registered as a Trust or Society or Section 25 Company gets similar benefits when it obtains exemption under section 80G of the IT Act.

But, if a Section 25 company obtains approval under Section 35 (1) (ii) or Section 35 AC of the I.T. Act, then the donors get more tax exemption benefits.  In such a scenario, the success rate of the company would be higher. Donors will always look at institutions which have better governance norms and are better regulated.

How many of the NGOs comply with the norms outlined by the government? Do we have a regulatory body to monitor the NGOs?

We have a regular monitoring system to track defaulters. Our system generates a list of non-filers and we issue notices to those who have not filed their returns. We are also looking into Trusts and NGOs which are not complying with their objectives as outlined in their deeds.

Almost 2 to 3 percent of the NGOs are scrutinized every year. Their books of accounts and activity reports are scrutinized by the Assessing Officer. If it is found that they are violating their objects or giving direct or indirect benefit to their Founder/Trustees/relatives, we deny them exemption.

About the Companies Act 2013 bill. Will this increase scope for corporates to network with NGOs?

It is too early to forecast what changes this bill would bring in the behaviour of major corporate houses. Some may do it through registered and good NGOs, while some may choose to do it themselves as they might find the NGO administrative expenses high. A clear contour has not yet emerged. We have to wait and watch.