9911796707
TMI Blog1998 (5) TMI 24X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e Kerala Agricultural Income-tax Act, 1950 ("Act" for short), as amended by Kerala Act 9 of 1974. The High Court in its impugned judgment reversed the findings of the authorities under the Act that the trust was a private family trust and the dominant object of the trust was to propagate a particular religion and to render service to the followers of that religion and it could not be treated as a public trust. The authorities had also found that most of the income of the trust was spent outside the State of Kerala. For the assessment year 1974-75 (accounting year 1973-74), the trust filed its return of agricultural income under the Act showing net profit of Rs. 53,191.39 and claimed exemption for the entire income. The Assessing Officer by ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ight in holding that even the amount spent in this State in furtherance of the objects of the trust cannot be treated as allowable items of expense ? and (4) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal has any material in inferring and is it justified in entering a finding that the object of the trust is only to spend money for the propagation of a particular type of religion and for the services of its followers ?" The High Court answered the first question in favour of the Revenue in view of the decision of this court in Karimtharuvi Tea Estate Ltd. v. State of Kerala [1966] 60 ITR 262. The High Court held that the trust was both religious and charitable and even if it is construed as a private religious tru ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... urposes in the State.. (3) Nothing contained in clause (b) or clause (c) of sub-section (1) shall operate so as to exclude from the total agricultural income of the previous year of the person in receipt thereof, (a) any part of the agricultural income from the property held under trust for private religious purposes which does not enure for the benefit of the public ; (b) in the case of a trust for charitable purposes or a charitable institution, any agricultural income thereof, if the trust or institution is created or established for the benefit of any particular religious community or caste ;" It is not disputed that the trust derived agricultural income from the property held under the trust. The question is if the trust is wholly ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ligion whose agricultural income does not enure for the benefit of general public. It was also found that most part of the agricultural income was spent for several purposes outside the State of Kerala. The exemption is allowed to the extent to which such agricultural income is applied to such purposes within the State of Kerala, if it is a public trust. The High Court decided the questions referred to it only in the abstract without considering as to how much agricultural income of the trust was spent in Kerala. We have also examined the trust deed which was produced at the time of arguments. The deed of trust and the rules run into more than thirty pages out of which six pages of the trust deed narrate the philosophy of the Jain dharma. T ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
