Home Case Index All Cases Income Tax Income Tax + HC Income Tax - 2020 (1) TMI HC This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2020 (1) TMI 868 - ORISSA HIGH COURTDeduction u/s 10(23C)(VI) - Secondary education - petitioner is a body corporate constituted under the Board of Secondary Education Act and is an instrumentality of the State for imparting secondary education - HELD THAT:- The petitioner-Board of Secondary Education, Odisha is constituted under the Board of Secondary Education Act 10 of 1953 (for short ‘the Act’), inter alia, to provide secondary education in the State of Odisha by preparing course for education in secondary preuniversity stage and to conduct examination for those, who have completed prescribed courses of study and to award certificates to successful candidates and also performing other statutory duties incidental thereto. Therefore, establishment of Board is only for imparting secondary education throughout the State of Odisha under Section 3 of the Act to regulate control and develop secondary education in the State of Odisha. The word ‘Education’ has been used in Section-2(15) of the Income Tax Act in sense of systematic instruction, schooling or training and not in wide and extended sense according to which every acquisition of further knowledge. Imparting secondary education has never been treated as trade or business and the citizen of the country have a fundamental right of secondary education. Article 21 prescribes that every child/citizen of this country has a right to free education until he completes the age of 14. At the age of 14 one may complete Secondary Education and it is also a duty cast on a State to safeguard fundamental right of citizen which includes education up to the age of 14 years. Therefore, the sole existence of Board is to impart secondary education, which safeguards the duty cast on a State. Taking into consideration the activities taken by the petitioner’s institution, which is responsible for education up to secondary education in the State while carrying out its statutory liability and obligation, the notices issued as at Annexures-1, 2 and 3 describing it to be commercial activities, in our considered opinion, are not sustainable as the issue is covered by the decision in the case of Rajasthan Hindi Granth Academy –v- Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax [1999 (8) TMI 14 - RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT] - the assessee will be entitled for the benefit u/s 10(23)(iiiab). - Decided in favour of assessee.
|