Home Case Index All Cases Income Tax Income Tax + AT Income Tax - 2022 (7) TMI AT This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2022 (7) TMI 786 - AT - Income TaxExemption u/s 11 - entitlement to "mutuality" benefit - Whether the assessee is charitable trust? - HELD THAT:- As decided in [2020 (9) TMI 199 - ITAT PUNE] own case exhibition by the assessee trust is only furtherance of the charitable activity of the trust wherein, the healthy environment is provided for businessmen so that all the stake holders i.e. businessmen and customers are benefited and they also make aware of various activities like pollution control, city development, legal assistance etc which are in the nature of charitable activities and these certainly reached out to the greater number of people of the society. It is not disputed that clause (vii) in the Memorandum of Objects is one of the pertinent object of the assessee trust and fulfillment of such object benefited the public at large by holding the exhibition and therefore, is a part of charitable activity conducted by the assessee trust. Merely having surplus in one year does not change the character of the trust to a business or profit making entity which is otherwise a charitable trust advancing work of general public utility and certainly not hit by the first proviso to Section 2(15) of the Act. Since the Assessing Officer has denied the benefit of sections 11 and 12 which has been upheld by the Ld. CIT(Appeals) also on the ground that the assessee did not fall within the scope of charitable purposes defined in section 2(15) of the Act because of carrying on or rendering of any services in business, trade and commerce and this in our considered opinion is not a correct interpretation of the provision. We, therefore, set aside the order of the Ld. CIT(Appeal) and direct the Assessing Officer to grant benefit of exemption u/s. 11 and 12 of the Act to the assessee. It is therefore, clear that there is hardly any need for us to proceed any further so far as both the parties' respective substantive grounds pleaded in the instant set of two cross appeals each are concerned. We adopt judicial consistency therefor and restore the instant issue of assessee's section 11 exemption back to the Assessing Officer to be decided in light of co-ordinate foregoing detailed discussion. CIT(A)'s identical lower appellate order(s) under challenge herein in all these four cross appeals holding the assessee as eligible/partly eligible for "mutuality" benefit (supra) are reversed once it has been held entitled for section 11 exemption benefit in principle. Appeal allowed for statistical purposes.
|