TMI Blog2023 (1) TMI 412X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o God is not correct and bereft of any reason. The assessee only teaches the students how to recite the Vedas. There is a particular method of pronunciation of Vedas with Swaras attached to it. The recitation and pronunciation of Vedas is what is taught by the assessee-Trust. It is like teaching any other Sanskrit literature. The teaching of Vedas does not involve offering worship and prayer to God as held by the CIT(E). There is no object or activity of worship or prayer to God as contended by the CIT(E). CIT(E) is also not an authority to conclude what teaching of Vedas involve. Assessee-trust has carried on other charitable activities in the nature of relief of poor. The Vedic Scholars were identified and felicitated irrespective of their caste, creed or religion. The Trust has given financial assistance to various people, irrespective of caste, creed or religion, involved in Indian Heritage Education. During Covid, many were in financial difficulty and the Trust provided financial assistance and distributed food kit, clothes, medicines for the needy Vedic scholars irrespective of their caste, religion or gender. All the expenses were met out of voluntary contributions or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rving students, teachers and scholars involved in learning of Indian Heritage Education; (h) To financially support the deserving students, teachers and scholars, involved in learning of Indian Heritage Education, for their modern education; (i) To help in building the infrastructure to teach modern education to those pursuing traditional Indian Heritage education; (j) To provide financial scholarship to those pursuing specialization on Heritage studies; (k) To work for the cause of Heritage education, to provide financial assistance for the medical expenses of students, teachers and scholars involved in Indian Heritage Education; (l) To give financial aid to the deserving parents sending their offspring for Heritage studies; (m) To encourage those doing research on the meaning of Vedas for the benefit of all; (n) To create zeal amidst students to excel and pursue deeper and wider into Heritage Education; (o) To work for National Integration, to promote universal brotherhood and to spread harmony among all sections of people of India. 4. The beneficiaries of the Trust are members of general public irrespective of race, religion, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 6. Section 80G applies only to charitable trusts or institutions. It does not apply to religious trusts or institutions whereas scheme of exemption u/s 12A applies to both charitable as well as religious trusts. Section 80G of the Income Tax Act 1961 provides that any donation to a charitable institution or funds approved under the said section shall be entitled to deduction of the sum so donated, while computing the total income in the hands of an assessee who is the donor of such donation. It provides deduction in respect of donations to certain funds, charitable institutions, etc. The recipient of money or the donee gives a receipt of donation, based on which the donor is entitled to claim a deduction, provided the donee institution is approved under section 80G of the Income Tax Act 1961. One of the Conditions to be satisfied to get approval under Section 80G (5) is that the Institution should be established in India for Charitable purpose and institution should not be for the benefit of any particular religious community or caste. It was therefore important for the assessee get itself recognized as a Charitable Institution rather than Religious Institution . In fact, if it ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... concluded that the appellant Trust is not eligible for approval under section 80G. In coming to the above conclusion, the learned CIT(E) has relied on certain decisions which are distinguishable / not applicable to the facts of the present case. 9. It was submitted that Hinduism is a way of life and not a religion. In this regard reliance was placed on observations of the Hon ble Madras High Court in the case of T. T. Kuppuswamy Chettiayar others Vs. State of Tamil Nadu (1987) 100 LW 1031 to the effect that there is no religion by name Hindu and that the name Hindu was given by the British Authorities while dispensing justice with reference to the inheritance, partition, marriage and other personal laws of the inhabitants of this nation who are not Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains. Reference was made to decision of Hon ble Supreme Court in the case of Dr. Ramesh Yeshwant Prabhoo Vs. Shri Prabhakar Kashinath Kunte and others 1996 AIR 1113 (SC) wherein the Constitutional Bench held that Hindutva is understood as a way of life or a state of mind and it is not to be equated with, or understood as religious Hindu fundamentalism. Reliance was placed on the following decisio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... laid down by the Hon ble Supreme Court is squarely applicable to the present case, since teaching of Vedas involves offering worship and prayer to God. 12. We have carefully considered the rival submissions. It is not in dispute that the beneficiaries of the assessee-trust are members of general public irrespective of race, religion, caste, community, creed or gender (refer para 2.1 of the trust deed). The word `Veda means `knowledge and is derived from the Sanskrit word `vid , which means `to know . The word `Veda signifies highest sacred, eternal and divine knowledge as well as the texts embodying that knowledge. The significance of the Veda is manifold. It has been universally acknowledged that the Veda is the earliest available literature of humanity. The Veda contains the highest spiritual knowledge (Para vidya) as well as the knowledge of the world (Apara vidya). Thus, apart from philosophy, we find here descriptions of various aspects of the different subjects such as sciences, medicine, political science, psychology, agriculture, poetry, art, music etc. The Veda is unique in its purity and sanctity. The text of the Veda is preserved in its pure and original form with ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ially the whole of which is of a religious nature. In the present case, the learned CIT(E) has held that the assessee is engaged in a religious activity of teaching Vedas, a Hindu religious scripture, to Hindu students and hence the whole purpose of the trust is of religious nature as per Explanation 3 to section 80G. It is therefore concluded that the assessee Trust is not eligible for approval under section 80G. In coming to the above conclusion, the learned CIT(E) has relied on certain judicial pronouncement, which we shall deal later. It is settled principle that Hinduism is a way of life and not a religion. The Hon ble Madras High Court in TT Kuppuswamy Chettiar and others v State of Tamil Nadu (1987) 100 LW 1031 held as under:- The word Hindu itself has not been defined in any of the texts, nor in any of the judge made laws. The definition of a Hindu is also not available in the ancient texts. Even the renowned author of the Hindu Law, viz., Mulla has not defined the word Hindu . According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, Hindu means adherent of Hinduism; whereas the Chambers Dictionary defines Hindu as a member of any of the races of Hindustan or India, a beli ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to be equated with, or understood as religious Hindu fundamentalism. Thus, it cannot be doubted, particularly in view of the Constitution Bench decisions of this Court that the words `Hinduism' or `Hindutva' are not necessarily to be understood and construed narrowly, confined only to the strict Hindu religious practices unrelated to the culture and ethos of the people of India, depicting the way of life of the Indian people. Unless the context of a speech indicates a contrary meaning or use, in the abstract these terms are indicative more of a way of life of the Indian people and are not confined merely to describe persons practising the Hindu religion as a faith. Considering the terms `Hinduism' or `Hindutva' per se as depicting hostility, enmity or intolerance towards other religious faiths or professing communalism, proceeds form an improper appreciation and perception of the true meaning of these expressions emerging from the detailed discussion in earlier authorities of this Court. 16. The Hon ble Allahabad High Court in CIT Vs. Sri Radha Raman Niwas Trust [2014] 42 taxmann.com 77 affirmed the findings of the Tribunal, which held that to carry sewa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing worshipped in a different manner, different rituals, different ethical codes. The worship of God is not essential for a person who has adopted Hinduism way of life. Therefore, expenses incurred for worshipping of Lord Shiva, Hanuman, Goddess Durga and for maintenance of temple cannot be regarded to be for religious purpose. In holding so, the Tribunal referred to the decisions in the case of Commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Vs. Sri Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar 1954 SCJ 335 T. T. Kuppuswamy Chettiar Vs. State of Tamil Nadu (1987) 100 LW 1031. 18. The ITAT Bangalore bench in M/s Sri Channamallikarjuna Trust Committee Gangavathi Vs. CIT (E) ITA No 1829/Bang/2018 (order dated 4.5.2022) explained the difference between charitable purpose and religious purpose and held as under:- 13. In sections 11, 12 13, a distinction has been drawn between 'charitable purpose' and 'religious purposes', but there is no definition of the term 'religious purpose' in the Act. Generally interpreted, it would encompass within its fold all institutions or funds, which are for the advancement, support or propagation of a religion and its tenets ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion of vedic thoughts and philosophy cannot be attributed to any religion as the same are more concerned with the lifestyle of the human beings. The relevant observations are as under:- 9. A perusal of the impugned order of the learned Commissioner of Income-tax shows that the renewal of registration under section 80G was denied by him to the assessee-trust mainly on three grounds which have already been enumerated by us while narrating the facts of the case in the foregoing portion of this order. At the time, of hearing before us, learned counsel for the assessee has made elaborate submissions to meet all these objections raised by the learned Commissioner of Income-tax while denying exemption to the assessee under section 80G. As rightly pointed out by him, the objects and activities of the assessee-trust relating to propagation of vedic thoughts and philosophy cannot be attributed to any religion as the same are more concerned with the lifestyle of the human beings across the different religions and countries. It gets corroborated from the fact that yoga and self-meditation are being exercised and followed throughout the world by sections of people from different religions ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... td. Vs. CIT (supra) is inapplicable to the facts of the present case. The impugned conclusion of the learned CIT(E) that teaching of Vedas involve offering worship and prayer to God is not correct and bereft of any reason. The assessee only teaches the students how to recite the Vedas. There is a particular method of pronunciation of Vedas with Swaras attached to it. The recitation and pronunciation of Vedas is what is taught by the assessee-Trust. It is like teaching any other Sanskrit literature. The teaching of Vedas does not involve offering worship and prayer to God as held by the CIT(E). There is no object or activity of worship or prayer to God as contended by the CIT(E). The CIT(E) is also not an authority to conclude what teaching of Vedas involve. Hence, the decision of the Supreme Court in Upper Ganges Sugar Mills Ltd Vs. CIT (supra) is not applicable to the facts of the present case. 23. The ITAT Jaipur in Shiv Ratan Rathi Foundation Vs. CIT [2012] 20 taxmann.com 221 (JP) followed the decision of the Supreme Court in Upper Ganges and held that organising Bhagavat Katha is a religious activity and therefore Trust would not be granted the approval under section 80G. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ted and relied upon by the learned Counsel for the revenue are distinguishable on facts and do not support the case of the respondents. Since the law in the case of Upper Ganges Sugar Mills (supra) was laid down while dealing the case of deduction under section 80G of the Act in the hands of donor so also in the case of Sri Marudhar Kesari Sthanakwasi Jain Yadgar Samiti Trust (supra) by this Court, those judgments do not advance cause of the revenue. On the other hand, the case laws relied upon by the learned counsel for the petitioner fully support the case of the petitioner when the Courts have consistently held that it is the dominant object of the trust which is important and contribution and expenditure incurred by the petitioner-trust has to be viewed in light of the objects with which charitable trust in question was constituted. 25. In the above judgment, it was held by the Hon ble Rajasthan High Court that approval under section 80G cannot be refused if one particular expenditure was made for repair and renovation of Lord Vishnu s temple and that too by way of contribution to another trust. Relevant observations are as under:- The line of distinction between rel ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The constitution bench decisions of the Supreme Court were not brought on record in the above decision and hence it is distinguishable. Without prejudice, the Tribunal in the above decision noted that universal appeal of Vedas and allowed registration in the status of charitable and religious Trust by holding as under:- Vedas: Universal appeal 4.6 Vedanta is the philosophy which analysed and taught man to be moral consciously. It is the essence of all religions. The Hindu scriptures teach that man is attracted to this earth to learn, more completely in each successive life, the infinite ways in which the Spirit may be expressed through, and be dominant over, material conditions. Slowly but surely, man, throughout the world, including India, across different religions, nationalities and ideologies, with the entering of the atomic age and the expansion of the world mind, is learning these truths. Wisdom garnered by India, the eldest brother among the nations, is a heritage of all mankind. Vedic truth, as all truth, belongs to the Lord and not to India. The Rishis, whose minds were pure receptacles to receive the divine profundities of the Vedas, were members of the h ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
