Home Case Index All Cases Income Tax Income Tax + AT Income Tax - 2022 (3) TMI AT This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2022 (3) TMI 424 - AT - Income TaxExemption u/s 11 and 12 - assessee had received corpus donation and voluntary donations - activities of the assessee society was by and large socio-spiritual and religious in nature which include organizing spiritual events and creating awareness about various social objects such as water conservation, female feticide, prisoner reforms, employment programmes for blind etc - HELD THAT:- We find that the assessee’s activities are mixed of religious, charitable and social activities. The religious activities have to be given a wide treatment and cannot be interpreted narrowly because in the concept of Hinduism there is no line of demarcation between religious or charitable. It is always mixed of both. Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of CIT vs. Dawoodi Bohara Jamat [2014 (3) TMI 652 - SUPREME COURT] held that if the assessee trust is formed with both religious and charitable objects in terms of section 13(1)(b), its claim for registration u/s 12AA cannot be denied and it can only denied in case when such objects are carried out for the benefit of a particular religious community or caste. If the purpose of the assessee trust is not indicative of wholly religious purpose but collectively indicate both charitable and religious purpose then it has to be treated cumulative and would be outside the purview of section 13(1)(b). AO justification invoking the provisions of section 115BBC - Only those anonymous donations are to be disallowed subject to a specific direction if it is for any university, educational institution or medical institution run by such institution which is not the case here. Here it is not the case that any anonymous donation made is with a specific direction that such donation is for any university or other educational institution or any hospital or other medical institution run by such trust or institution. In fact nowhere there is any finding or it is a matter of fact that assessee is running any such educational or medical institution. Accordingly, we do not find any infirmity in the order of the ld. CIT (A). We are also unable to appreciate the arguments of the ld. CIT DR that, since assessee had been granted certificate u/s 80G which cannot be granted if the trust/institution is wholly and substantially for religious purposes. First of all, this was not the ground taken by the AO and secondly, if there is any infirmity in the grant of certificate issued u/s 80G then it is for the Department to look into that aspect otherwise it has no relevance or bearing in interpreting whether subsection (2) of section 115BBC is applicable in this case or not. Otherwise also, similar donations have been accepted not only in the earlier years but also in the subsequent years u/s 143(3) and it has been categorically found that provisions of seciton115BBC is not applicable, therefore, in view of the rule of consistency, such donations cannot be disallowed. - Decided against revenue.
|