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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."