9911796707
TMI Blog2011 (4) TMI 1213X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Rs. 2,02,21,283. The Assessing Officer in his assessment order has mentioned that the assessee is a charitable society and was granted registration under section 12AA of the Act by the learned Commissioner of Income-tax, Jaipur, vide order dated October 17, 1981. This society is also authorised to receive the donations from foreign institutions or individuals under the Foreign Contribution Regulations Act. The funds received from the foreign donors are to be utilised by the society without any control of the Government. 90 percent of the foreign donations has been received from the American society namely "Hope Givers International". The Assessing Officer noticed that following expenses have been incurred for the religious purposes and not ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... i.e., to reach the people of every community with God's love. Preachers are given small amount of money to encourage the work in different places. We sometimes provide clothes for their family and children of the community. Pastor is trained in our Bible college with the objectives of the society to help the poor and to educate the people in villages, cities, towns of our great nations. The pastors are asked to help the orphans, widows and lepers of the community. What we pay them is only a small token of appreciation for their great labour. We encourage the pastors by giving small amount of money, some clothes. We bring them together for leadership seminars. We provide them travelling allowance/dearness allowance and also we provide g ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... drawn. The bar of Christian religion is not at all relevant. The society has been running and carrying out its activities in the same manner and method and with the same set of objects as in the earlier years. Our attention was drawn towards the memorandum of association of the assessee-society to show that the society was not meant or created for the benefit of members of a parti- cular community, creed or religion. The Children Homes at Kota, Piploda, Chawala, New Delhi and Tindor in Rajasthan have admitted Hindu and Muslim children while the Children Home at Fatehgarh in Madhya Pradesh belonged to Hindus. The learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) after considering the contentions of the assessee deleted the addition after observi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... parties. The Revenue for the assessment year 2004-05 has treated the income of the assessee exempt under section 11 of the Act. Page 15 of the paper book filed by the learned authorised rep- resentative showed the copy of registration certificate under section 12A of the Act. It is nowhere mentioned in the registration certificate that the society is being registered as charitable society. If one goes through the nature of the expenses and explanation given before the Assessing Offi- cer, it is clear that the expenses at serial No. 1 and the expenses given at serial No. 8 can only be related to religious activities. Other expenses are not for religious purposes and have been incurred for schools, orphana- ges, etc. The hon'ble jurisdictiona ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... It is also not the case of the Revenue that the expenses have been incurred for benefit of the persons referred to section 13(3) of the Act. The learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) has referred to the decision of the Third Member of the Cochin Bench in the case of the Society of Presentation Sisters v. ITO [2009] 318 ITR (AT) 287 (Cochin) (I. T. A. No. 457/Coch/2007 dated September 22, 2009). The Third Member has observed as under : "So for as the provisions of section 11(1(a) is concerned, no dis- tinction is made between charitable and religious purposes. A charitable institution can have religious purposes; whereas a religious institution may be partly charitable. Even otherwise relief and help to the poor, medical help to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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