TMI Blog1971 (7) TMI 37X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by M/s. New Suraj Financiers and Chit Fund Co. Pvt. Ltd., Amritsar, in August, 1967, and in December, 1967. According to the rules pertaining to the two schemes, each member was required to pay a sum of Rs. 100 towards each scheme per month to the company for a period of sixty months. At the end of each month, from the starting of the lucky schemes, a draw was made and the person whose luck favoured as a result of the draw was to be paid Rs. 6,000, and was further entitled to stop contributing his one hundred rupees in future. But, all the members, excepting those in whose favour the draws had gone, were to get back Rs, 6,000 each at the end of sixty months with Rs. 500 in addition as interest. The assessee had contributed only Rs. 400 in t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the type in which the appellant has indulged. After all, we do not find any difference between the two schemes out of which the appellant got the money and lotteries which are being encouraged by all the States in the country as well as Five Year Interest Free Prize Bond (1965) Scheme of the Government of India. It cannot be taken as the appellant's income merely because the appellant has received an amount over and above his contribution as all amounts received are not necessarily income. The income-tax authorities in their zeal to assess income and collect taxes should not lose sight of the basic principle of jurisprudence that it is the income and income alone which is taxable and all receipts may not be necessarily income. In order that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... reference need only be made to Commissioner of Income-tax v. Shaw Wallace and Company and Raja Bahadur Kamakshya Narain Singh of Ramgarh v. Commissioner of Income-tax. After going through these decisions, we are of the view that the present activity cannot in any terms be said to be business. If the scheme is examined to its core, it will be found that the member is contributing Rs. 100 per month for 60 months and in the end he gets his investment plus Rs. 500 as interest. This interest may be chargeable to tax. On that there can be no two opinions. But, what he gets as a fortuitous circumstance fairly and squarely falls within the ambit of section 10(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. There is no escape from this conclusion. In our opinion, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
