How to Distribute Form 10BE Certificates to NGO Donors | Sevastack — Sevastack Blog

The 80G confusion most NGOs face

If you run an Indian NGO, you've probably faced this question from donors: "Where is my 80G receipt? I need it for my ITR filing."

Here's the truth that most NGOs — and even many CAs — get wrong: NGOs don't issue 80G certificates. The Income Tax Department does.

What NGOs issue is a donation receipt — an acknowledgment that a donation was received. The actual 80G tax deduction certificate is called Form 10BE, and it's generated by the IT Department after the NGO files Form 10BD.

How the process actually works

NGO receives donations throughout the financial year, recording each donor's PAN.
NGO sends donation receipts to donors (not "80G receipts" — just acknowledgments).
After the FY ends, the NGO prepares and files Form 10BD on the Income Tax e-filing portal — a statement listing all donors, their PANs, and donation amounts.
Within 24 hours, the IT Department generates Form 10BE certificates — one PDF per donor.
NGO downloads all 10BE certificates from the portal.
NGO distributes each 10BE certificate to the respective donor.
Donor uses Form 10BE while filing ITR to claim deduction under Section 80G.

The real pain point: step 6

Steps 1 through 5 are straightforward. But step 6 — distributing the right certificate to the right donor — is where things break down.

Consider an NGO with 500 donors. After filing 10BD, they download 500 PDF files from the IT portal. Each file is named something like:

Form10BE_Rajesh Kumar_2024_AACTD4948C05251000039.pdf

Now the NGO admin has to:

Open each PDF to find the donor's PAN
Look up that PAN in their donor database
Find the donor's email
Compose an email, attach the PDF, and send it
Repeat 500 times

This manual process takes days. Many NGOs simply give up and tell donors to download their own 10BE from the IT portal — but most donors don't know how.

The automated solution

Sevastack solves this with a one-click 10BE distribution feature:

Upload all 10BE PDFs from the IT portal (drag and drop multiple files).
Automatic PAN matching — the system reads each PDF, extracts the donor's PAN from field 6b, and matches it to your donor database.
Review matches — see which donors matched, which didn't, and manually assign any unmatched files.
One-click send — email all matched donors their 10BE certificate with a professional email explaining how to use it for ITR filing.

What used to take days now takes under 5 minutes — even for NGOs with thousands of donors.

What donors receive

Each donor gets a professional email with:

Their Form 10BE certificate attached as a PDF.
Clear instructions on how to claim 80G deduction in ITR.
The NGO's name and financial year.

No more confused donors. No more manual distribution. No more missed deductions.

Common mistakes NGOs make with 80G

1. Calling the donation receipt an "80G receipt"

Your donation receipt is just an acknowledgment. The actual 80G certificate is Form 10BE, issued by the IT Department. Calling your receipt "80G receipt" confuses donors into thinking they don't need anything else.

2. Not filing Form 10BD

If the NGO doesn't file 10BD, the IT Department won't generate 10BE certificates. Donors won't be able to claim the deduction — even if your NGO has valid 80G registration.

3. Not collecting donor PAN

Form 10BD requires each donor's PAN. If you don't collect it at the time of donation, you can't include that donor in your filing. Always ask for PAN when the donor opts for tax deduction.

4. Filing 10BD late

The sooner you file, the sooner donors get their 10BE. File as early as possible after the financial year ends so donors can claim deductions in time for their ITR deadline.

Quick checklist for NGOs

Collect donor PAN at the time of donation (required for 80G).
Send a donation receipt (not "80G receipt") immediately after each donation.
File Form 10BD on the IT portal after the FY ends.
Download all Form 10BE certificates from the portal.
Use Sevastack to distribute 10BE certificates to all donors in one click.

If you're an Indian NGO looking to streamline your compliance workflow, try Sevastack for free — it handles donation receipts, Form 10BD/10BE generation, FCRA compliance, and now one-click 10BE distribution.