CORAA

Endowment Fund & Corpus Management Checklist

Corpus donations correctly identified, invested only in Section 11(5) specified modes, and the closing corpus balance actually computed — not left as a number nobody reconciled.

Free · CORAA original — SA-aligned
Updated 28 Jul 2026
Governing section
Sec 11(1)(d) — corpus donations
Investment test
Sec 11(5) specified modes only
Application rule
Explanation 4 to Sec 11(1) — replenish or it's not "applied"
Requires
Specific written donor direction — not inferred
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Your firm — letterhead
Appears at the top of the document as the audit firm letterhead.
Used as the letterhead block.
Engagement details
The client and period this document is for.
Auto-printed in the audit report and annexure header.
The 12A / 12AB / 10(23C) registration / URN issued by Income-tax department.
The previous year for which Form 10B is being filed.
AY corresponding to the previous year above.
Donations received with a specific written direction that they form part of the corpus.
Per Explanation 4 to Sec 11(1), this must be replenished in a later year to count as application.
What’s inside

An excerpt from the template.

ENDOWMENT FUND & CORPUS MANAGEMENT CHECKLIST

Entity: ___ · PAN: ___ · Year ended: ___

Corpus donations are a distinct category under Sec 11(1)(d) — voluntary contributions received with a specific written direction that they form part of the trust's corpus are not treated as income at all (subject to certain conditions post the Finance Act 2021 amendments), unlike general donations which count towards the 85% application test. This checklist tests correct identification, investment, and continuity of the corpus.

A. Corpus Identification Test

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About this template

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This template follows the format published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in the AASB Audit Working Paper Templates (June 2023), the authoritative reference for Indian statutory-audit documentation. Fill in your firm’s letterhead and the engagement details on the form above, click Download Word file, and you’ll get a fully formatted .docx ready to use.

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Common questions

FAQs.

What makes a donation a "corpus" donation rather than a general donation?
Only a specific WRITTEN direction from the donor stating that the contribution is meant to form part of the trust's corpus qualifies it as a corpus donation under Sec 11(1)(d). A donor saying so verbally, or the trust simply deciding to treat a donation as corpus on its own, does not meet this test — without the donor's own written direction, the receipt is a general donation and counts towards the 85% application requirement like any other income.
Can corpus funds be invested in equity shares?
Only if the investment falls within one of the modes specified under Section 11(5) — which does not generally include ordinary equity shares of companies (with narrow exceptions such as shares of a public sector company, or shares acquired before specified cut-off dates under grandfathering provisions). Investing corpus in non-specified-mode equity is a violation that can trigger tax consequences under Section 13, potentially forfeiting the trust's exemption on that investment income or more broadly, depending on the facts.
If corpus is spent during the year, is that a compliance problem?
Not by itself — but Explanation 4 to Section 11(1) requires that amount to be replenished (reinvested back into Sec 11(5) modes held for the corpus) in a later year for it to count as "application" of income at all; until replenished, it is neither treated as corpus application nor as regular application towards the 85% test. Track and follow up on any corpus spent during the year so the replenishment actually happens and gets tested in the year it occurs.
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