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2019 (10) TMI 150 - HC - Income TaxExemption u/s 11 - Registration u/s 12AA denied - charitable activities u/s 2(15) - activity of preservation of environment by providing pollution control treatment for disposal of the liquid and solid industrial waste - HELD THAT:- Just because the members of the assessee company, in the case on hand, are being benefited and their statutory liability is being discharged by the assessee company, by itself, would not be sufficient to hold that the company could not be said to have been set up for charitable purpose. Merely because a fee or some other consideration is collected or received by an Institution, it would not lose its character of having been established for a charitable purpose. It is also important to note that we must examine as to what is the dominant activity of the institution in question. If the dominant activity of the institution was not business or trade or commerce, then any such incidental or ancillary activity would also not fall within the categories of the trade, commerce or business. It is clear from the facts of the present case that the driving force is not the desire to earn profit, but the object is to promote, aid, foster and engage in the area of Environment Protection, abatement of pollution of various kinds such as water, air, solid, noise, vehicular etc. without limiting its scope. In short, the main object appears to be preservation and protection of environment. The Latin word utilis means ‘useful, beneficial, equitable, available’. Chambers Dictionary of English defines ‘utility’ as useful: power to satisfy the wants of people in general: a useful thing, public utility: public service or a company providing such public service. According to ‘New Oxford Dictionary of English’ (1998), as a Noun, utility is the status of being useful, profitable or beneficial. The words ‘public utility’ or ‘general public utility’ are not capable of a precise meaning. The question whether service is public utility or not has to be discharged in the context of different situations but it is, as considered infra, well settled that public utility means public purpose depending upon the context in which it is used in the statute or the Rules. Indeed, in some decisions, public utility is considered very similar to one for public purpose The CIT (A) and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal have concurrently held that taking an overall view, the dominant objects of the assessee are charitable as the dominant object is not only preservation of environment, but one of general public utility and, therefore, the assessee is entitled to seek exemption under Section 11 of the Act. The Tribunal is the last fact finding body. As a principle, this Court should not disturb the findings of fact in an appeal under Section 260A of the Act unless the findings of fact are perverse.- Decided in favour of the assessee and against the revenue.
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