The Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950 governs every public charitable and religious trust in the state, and in Greater Mumbai the file for each of them sits with the office of the Charity Commissioner at Worli. This page sets out what that office does, what a trust has to do to stay in good standing, what goes wrong most often, and where an advocate is needed as distinct from an accountant.
Trust in Thane district? Thane trusts file at the Public Trust Registration Office, Tembhi Naka. See Charity Commissioner matters in Thane.
What the Charity Commissioner’s office actually does
Three things, broadly. It registers public trusts and societies and maintains the Public Trust Register. It supervises them — accounts, audit, property transactions, investment of funds. And it adjudicates: objections to change reports, disputes between trustees, applications for sanction, proceedings concerning a trustee’s conduct, and consent to institute suits about a trust.
The third of those is the part most often misunderstood. Proceedings before the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner are quasi-judicial. Parties are heard, evidence is led, and orders are passed which carry consequences and which are appealable. A contested change report is not a form being processed; it is a matter being decided.
The hierarchy, and who decides what
The Act is administered by the Charity Commissioner for the state, with Joint, Deputy and Assistant Charity Commissioners exercising powers regionally. For most of what a trust does, the officer named in the provision is the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner of the region — registration under Section 18, the inquiry under Section 19, change reports under Section 22.
A trust in Greater Mumbai belongs to the Greater Mumbai region whether it sits in Malad, Chembur or Colaba. There is no local counter. That single fact decides a great deal about how these matters are actually conducted: the attendance is at Worli, and the question is who makes it.
Registration: Sections 18 and 19
A public trust is required to be registered, and the trustee applies — within three months of the trust’s creation — to the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner of the region in which the trust has its principal office. The application is in Schedule II and carries the particulars that will become the register entries.
Section 19 then requires an inquiry. The officer must ascertain whether a trust exists and whether it is a public trust; whether the property said to belong to it does; where it is situated; who the trustees are; the mode of succession; the origin, nature and object of the trust; and the gross average annual income and expenditure. Only then are the entries recorded.
Applications fail at this stage for reasons that are almost always in the drafting rather than the form. An object clause confining the benefit to a family or a closed group is not charitable in law, however worthy it sounds. Property dedicated but loosely described causes difficulty. A deed silent on how a vacancy in the office of trustee is filled makes every future appointment harder to record. See trust registration.
The Public Trust Register and why everyone relies on it
Banks, funders, purchasers and government departments do not rely on a trust’s own minute book. They rely on the register. It records the trust’s name and registration number, the trustees and their addresses, the mode of succession, the property, the objects, and the income and expenditure figures.
That is why a register three appointments out of date is not a paperwork problem but a trading problem: the trust cannot open an account, cannot complete a property transaction, cannot satisfy a donor’s due diligence. And it is why change reports matter more than their modest name suggests.
Change reports under Section 22
Any change in an entry recorded in the register must be reported to the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner in the prescribed form — Schedule III — ordinarily within 90 days of the change occurring.
The Maharashtra Public Trusts (Second Amendment) Act, 2017 made two practical changes. A report filed beyond the ninety days may be entertained where sufficient cause is shown, with costs payable by the trustee — so delay is now something to explain rather than something that bars the report. And for changes in the names and addresses of trustees or managers, a faster route exists: provisional acceptance within fifteen working days, a thirty-day objection window, and finality without full inquiry if nobody objects.
The 2019 amendment to the Rules (Rule 13(2A)) then tightened what must accompany a report. In broad terms:
| Change | Usually filed with the report |
|---|---|
| Appointment of a trustee | Board resolution and meeting notice, consent letter of the incoming trustee with particulars, identity and address proof, the deed clause relied on |
| Resignation of a trustee | Resignation letter, board resolution accepting it, affidavit of the outgoing trustee |
| Death of a trustee | Death certificate, board resolution recording the vacancy, the succession clause of the deed |
| Change of registered address | Board resolution, proof of the new address, utility bill or agreement |
| Acquisition or disposal of immovable property | The transfer deed, and the Section 36 sanction where the transaction required it |
| Amendment of the trust deed | The deed of amendment, the board resolution, and the clause permitting amendment |
Practice varies between officers, and a short covering note identifying the clause of the deed that authorises the change saves a great deal of correspondence. See change report filing.
Property: Section 36
No sale, exchange or gift of immovable property of a public trust is valid without the previous sanction of the Charity Commissioner. For leases the line depends on the land: sanction is required for a lease exceeding ten years of agricultural land, or exceeding three years of non-agricultural land or a building. The Charity Commissioner is not to sanction any lease exceeding thirty years.
The three-year line is the one that catches Mumbai trusts, because letting a shop, a hall or an office on a five-year arrangement is squarely within it — and a chain of short renewals that adds up to a long occupation is judged on substance, not on the label. Sanction must come before the trust commits itself. The narrow route added by Section 36(5) in 2017, allowing sanction after the event in exceptional and extraordinary situations on stringent conditions and only for transfers after a date in October 2017, is a remedy, not a plan.
An application is decided in the interest of the trust, so the office examines necessity, the fairness of the consideration or rent, how the transaction was arrived at, what becomes of the proceeds, whether any trustee has a personal interest, and whether the trust’s own filings are in order. See Section 36 sanction.
Money: Section 35
Section 35 restricts where trust funds may be held — broadly a Scheduled Bank, a Postal Savings Bank, or a Co-operative Bank approved by the State Government, together with a first mortgage of non-leasehold property with an adequate margin. The Charity Commissioner may permit investment in some other manner, but that requires an order before the money moves, not afterwards. By Circular No. 619 dated 21 July 2025, the Charity Commissioner has granted general permission for trustees to invest up to fifty per cent of trust money in specified securities, such as certain mutual funds, index ETFs and government or rated corporate debt, without a separate order for each investment. Investments outside those categories or above that limit, funds in an unapproved co-operative bank, and money parked in a trustee’s personal account are the breaches that turn up most often at audit. See Section 35 and Circular 619.
Accounts, audit and the annual cycle
Trustees must keep regular accounts, balance them at the end of the accounting year, and have them audited. The Rules set the chain: audit within six months of the date of balancing, and the auditor forwards the balance sheet, the income and expenditure account and the audit report to the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner within a fortnight of the audit.
The prescribed formats are Schedule VIII (balance sheet), Schedule IX (income and expenditure) and Schedule IX-C (statement of income liable to contribution). The 2019 amendment rules added Schedule IX-D, requiring the auditor to report further particulars including the trust’s PAN, its income tax registration details, income tax return acknowledgements for the preceding three years, and the PANs of all trustees. Those same rules moved submission of audited accounts online, and required notices to be published on the department’s website rather than on an office notice board.
Ordinary accountant-prepared statements will not do on their own: the office expects the prescribed schedules. See public trust compliance and the note on annual accounts and audit.
Contribution under Section 58
Section 58 provides for a contribution to the Public Trusts Administration Fund, capped by the section at five per cent of gross annual income or collection, with the rate fixed by the State Government. Two per cent was applied for many years. The levy was stayed by the Bombay High Court in September 2009 and that stay was lifted on 16 July 2025. The Court also restrained collection on the basis of the earlier orders, so contribution becomes payable again only if the State Government passes a fresh order under Section 58(4).
The practical position is therefore unsettled and should be confirmed before any payment is made. The filing obligation is separate from the payment question, and Schedule IX-C should continue to be prepared and filed. There is a fuller note on the contribution.
Where an advocate is needed, and where an accountant will do
This is worth being direct about, because a good deal of this work is offered by firms that cannot do all of it.
| Matter | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Preparing and filing annual accounts | Accounting and audit work. A chartered accountant handles this. |
| An uncontested change report | Largely documentary. Either can prepare it, provided the deed is read properly. |
| A change report that is objected to | A contested quasi-judicial proceeding: pleadings, evidence, hearing, order. |
| Section 36 sanction where the transaction is questioned | Contested proceeding; the trust’s case has to be made and defended. |
| Proceedings concerning a trustee’s conduct | Adversarial throughout. |
| Consent under Section 51 and a suit under Section 50 | Litigation. Only an advocate can conduct it. |
| Appeal against an order under the Act | Litigation, and since 2017 certain challenges lie to the High Court. |
A trust whose affairs are straightforward may never need more than the first two rows. A trust with a divided board, a property history or an old and untidy file will need the rest, and will usually discover that the day it applies for something.
The 2025 amendment: tenure and perpetual trustees
The Maharashtra Public Trusts (Second Amendment) Act, 2025 (Mah. LIII of 2025) replaced an ordinance of 1 September 2025 and, except for one section, is treated as in force from that date. Three of its changes matter in almost every trust file:
- Tenure and perpetual trustees (new Section 30A). A trustee is now either a tenure trustee, appointed for a specific period, or a perpetual trustee, appointed for life or as a permanent trustee. Where the deed does not provide for perpetual trustees, they cannot exceed one-fourth of the total number of trustees. Where the deed is silent on the term, the trustees may appoint or re-appoint a trustee unanimously for up to five years at a time. The board can never exceed the maximum number fixed by the deed.
- Registration needs a property document (Section 18(6)). An application to register a trust must now be accompanied by a copy of the document showing ownership of, or interest in, the trust’s immovable property.
- Revision within 120 days (Section 70A). An application for revision to the Charity Commissioner must be made within 120 days of the finding or order. Earlier, no period was fixed.
Trusts whose deeds call every trustee “permanent”, or whose boards have grown beyond the deed, should review their position before the next change report. See the 2025 amendment explained.
Disputes between trustees
Most trust disputes are not about money. They are about who is entitled to act — a faction that has been running the institution for years against a register that says something else, or a deed whose succession clause nobody followed. These are decided on the deed and the record, not on possession of the keys or the bank account. See trustee disputes.
Where the relief sought is of the kind Section 50 contemplates — directions, accounts, removal of a trustee, a scheme for administration — the consent of the Charity Commissioner under Section 51 is required before the suit is instituted, and an application for consent has to be made out on specifics rather than on general complaints of mismanagement. There is a fuller note on suits and consent.
Putting an old file straight
The commonest engagement of all. An institution has been running for decades, the register stopped being updated in the 1990s, and something now requires a clean file. The sequence does not vary much:
- Obtain a current register extract to establish what the record actually says.
- Reconstruct the history of trustees and property from the trust’s own records.
- File the outstanding change reports, usually in the order the changes occurred, with an explanation of the delay.
- Reconstruct, audit and file the accounts year by year.
- Only then make the application — sanction, or the funder’s requirement — that prompted the exercise.
It is tedious rather than difficult, and it takes months rather than weeks. Boards that begin when a deadline is six weeks away are in a considerably worse position than those that begin when nothing is pending.
Common questions
Where is the Charity Commissioner’s office for a Mumbai trust?
Public trust matters for Greater Mumbai are dealt with at the office of the Charity Commissioner at Worli. A trust registered anywhere in Greater Mumbai belongs to that region, whether its own address is in Malad, Andheri or Chembur. There is no separate local office for individual suburbs.
How long do I have to file a change report?
Ordinarily 90 days from the date the change occurred. Since the Maharashtra Public Trusts (Second Amendment) Act, 2017, a report filed after that period may still be entertained where sufficient cause is shown, with costs payable by the trustee. A delay should therefore be explained candidly rather than treated as a reason not to file.
Can a trust sell its property without permission?
No. A sale, exchange or gift of immovable property of a public trust requires the previous sanction of the Charity Commissioner under Section 36. A lease also needs sanction if it exceeds ten years for agricultural land or three years for non-agricultural land or a building, and no lease beyond thirty years can be sanctioned at all.
What happens if a trust has not filed accounts for several years?
Nothing immediately, which is why it happens. The consequences arrive when the trust next needs something — a property sanction, a grant, an income tax application — and the missing filings are raised before the merits are reached. Catching up means reconstructing and auditing the accounts year by year and filing them with an explanation.
Do I need an advocate or a chartered accountant for Charity Commissioner work?
It depends on the matter. Preparing and auditing accounts is accountancy work. An uncontested change report is largely documentary. But a change report that is objected to, a questioned Section 36 application, proceedings about a trustee’s conduct, and any suit under Section 50 are contested proceedings, and only an advocate can conduct those.
Is the 2% contribution under Section 58 still payable?
The position is unsettled. The levy was stayed by the Bombay High Court in September 2009 and the stay was lifted on 16 July 2025. The Court also restrained collection under the old orders, so no contribution is collectable unless the State Government passes a fresh order under Section 58(4). The current requirement should be confirmed with the Charity Commissioner’s office before any payment is made. The obligation to prepare and file Schedule IX-C is separate and continues.
What is the difference between a public trust and a registered society in Maharashtra?
A trust is created by deed and run by trustees; a society is created by memorandum and run by an elected committee. In Maharashtra a charitable society is registered under both the Societies Registration Act and the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, so it carries both sets of obligations — elections and members’ registers as well as change reports and audited accounts.
See also: How to remove a trustee in Maharashtra.
See also: The Trust & NGO Desk: everything for trusts and NGOs in one place.
Discussing a matter
Consultations are at chambers at 704 Classic Building, Gate No. 8, Malwani MHADA, Malad (West), Mumbai 400095, by appointment. For trust matters a first discussion can usually be held by telephone or WhatsApp with documents sent electronically, since attendance is at Worli in any event. Telephone or message +91 99301 50560, or use the contact page.
This page describes procedure under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950 in general terms. It is not legal advice, and what applies in a particular matter depends on its own facts and on the law as it stands at the time. Statutory references should be checked against the current text of the Act and Rules.
Related guides
- Section 50A: Scheme or Amalgamation of Public Trusts
- Trust Property Sold Without Sanction: Ex-Post-Facto Sanction Under Section 36(5)
- Ganesh and Festival Mandals: Section 41C Donation Permission
- Redevelopment of a Trust-Owned Building: Tenants and Section 36
- When a Trustee Dies: What the Remaining Trustees Must Do
- Free and Concessional Treatment in Charitable Hospitals in Mumbai
- Which Charity Commissioner Office Handles a Mumbai Trust?
- The Public Trust Register: What It Records and How to Get an Extract
All guides in one place: Charity Commissioner and public trusts
This page describes general procedure and is published for information only, in keeping with Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules. It is not legal advice and does not solicit work. What applies to a particular matter depends on its own facts.