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"..........The law is well settled that if there are several objects of a
trust or institution, some of which are charitable and some non-
charitable and the trustees or the managers in their discretion are
to apply the income or property to any of those objects, the trust or
institution would not be liable to be regarded as charitable and no
part of its income would be exempt from tax. In other words,
where the main or primary objects are distributive, each and
everyone of the objects must be charitable in order that the trust or
institution might be upheld as a valid charity--Mohammed
Ibrahim Riza v. CIT [1930] LR 57 IA 260 and East India
Industries ( Madras)Pvt. Ltd. v. CIT [1967] 65 ITR 611. But if
the primary or dominant purpose of a trust or institution is
charitable, another object which by itself may not be charitable but
Institute for Development & Research in Banking
Technology (IDRBT), Hyderabad.
which is merely ancillary or incidental to the primary or dominant
purpose would not prevent the trust or institution from being a
valid charity-- CIT v. Andhra Chamber of Commerce [1965] 55
ITR 722 . The test which has, therefore, to be applied is whether
the object which is said to be non-charitable is a main or primary
object of the trust or institution or it is ancillary or incidental to the
dominant or primary object which is charitable. It was on an
application of this test that in CIT v. Andhra Chamber of
Commerce (supra), the Andhra Chamber of Commerce was held to
be a valid charity entitled to exemption from tax. The Court held
that the dominant or primary object of the Andhra Chamber of
Commerce was to promote and protect trade, commerce and
industry and to aid, stimulate and promote the development of
trade, commerce and industry and to watch over and protect the
general commercial interests of India or any part thereof and this
was clearly an object of general public utility and though one of the
objects included the taking of steps to urge or oppose legislation
affecting trade, commerce or manufacture, which, standing by
itself, may be liable to be condemned as non-charitable, it was
merely incidental to the dominant or primary object and did not
prevent the Andhra Chamber of Commerce from being a valid
charity. The Court pointed out that if "the primary purpose be
advancement of objects of general public utility, it would remain
charitable even if an incidental entry into the political domain for
achieving that purpose, e.g., promotion of or opposition to
legislation concerning that purpose, was contemplated". The Court
also held that the Andhra Chamber of Commerce did not cease to
be charitable merely because the members of the Chamber were
incidentally benefitedin carrying out its main charitable purpose.
The Court relied very strongly on the decisions in Commissioner of
Inland Revenue v. Yorkeshire Agricultural Society [1920] 13 Tax
Case 58 and Institution of Civil Engineers v. Commissioner of
Inland Revenue [1931] 16 Tax Case 158 for reaching the
conclusion that merely because some benefits incidentally arose to
the members of the society or institution in the course of
carrying out its main charitable purpose, it would not by itself
prevent the association or institution from being a charity. It would
be a question of fact' in such case "whether there is no such
personal benefit, intellectual or professional, to the members of the
society or body of persons as to be incapable of being
disregarded."