TMI Blog1984 (6) TMI 39X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is exempt under section 10(22) of the Income-tax Act since the assessee is an educational institution ? (2) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Appellate Tribunal is right in law in confirming the AAC's view that the assessee-trust would be entitled to exemption under section 11 and also in not permitting the Department from taking the ground on this issue ?" The assessee is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860. The society came to be registered on September 3, 1946. The objects of the society, inter alia, are as follows : " (i) to constitute the existing Saraswath Students' Fund into registered body. (ii) to extend financial assistance to poor and deserving Saraswath Stud ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ent of the Tribunal, allowed the appeals for all the three years with a direction to the ITO to allow deductions under s. 11 of the Act. The Revenue appealed to the Tribunal. But the Tribunal could not do anything better. It had to follow its earlier decision for the assessment year 1975-76 holding that the assessee was an educational institution falling within the ambit of s. 10(22). Before the Tribunal, the Revenue appears to have objected to the direction issued by the AAC to the ITO to allow deduction of 25 per cent., under s. 11. Although the order of, the Tribunal is not clear, it appears to us that the question raised was that the assessee was not entitled to the benefit of s.11. The Tribunal rejected that contention on the ground ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... excluded from the prohibition contained under s. 13(1)(b) of the I.T. Act, 1961, although it has been created or established for the benefit of a particular religious community or caste. The assessee can, therefore, safely be said to be a trust entitled to the benefit of s.11 since it is concerned with the promotion of education or allied purposes of the poor students belonging to the Saraswath Community., Section 2(15) defines "charitable purpose " to include " relief of the poor, education, medical relief, and the advancement of any other object of general public utility ". The main object of the trust is to extend financial assistance to poor and deserving students belonging to Saraswath Community by way of loans, scholarships and grant ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al institutions which are not universities and those which are universities. Both teach students and both have teachers for the purpose. But what distinguishes a university from any other educational institution is that a university grants degrees of its own while other educational institutions cannot. It is this granting of degrees by a university which distinguishes it from the ordinary run of educational institutions. The counsel to argued that the " university or other educational institution " used in s. 10(22) must be given the same meaning and if the assessee is not engaged in teaching students or imparting education to students, it cannot get the relief under s. 10(22). The counsel, however, does not dispute that the assessee is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ege is entitled to claim exemption under s. 10(22). The Allahabad High Court in Katra Education Society v. ITO [1978] 111 ITR 420 held (p. 421) " The word 'institution' has not been defined in the Act. There is no reason why an educational society cannot be regarded as an educational institution if that educational society is running educational institution or institutions." Similar was the view taken by the Madras High Court in Addl. CIT v. Aditanar Educational Institution [1979] 118 ITR 235. The Andhra Pradesh High Court in Governing Body of Rangaraya Medical College v. ITO [1979] 117 ITR 284, also held that the assessee society running a college with no motive of profit or personal gain was entitled to claim exemption in respect of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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