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Showing contexts for: charitable trust objects in Director Of Income Tax (Exemption) vs Sabarmati Ashram Gaushala ... on 15 January, 2014Matching Fragments
Assessee carried the mater in appeal. CIT [A] rejected the appeal and confirmed the order of the Assessing Officer. The assessee, therefore, approached the Tribunal in second appeal. Tribunal, by the impugned judgment, reversed the decision of the revenue authorities holding that the assessee is a charitable trust and proviso to section 2 (15) of the Act will not apply. The Tribunal relied on the Finance Minister's speech in the Parliament explaining proviso to Section 2 (15) as also the CBDT Circular No. 11/2008 of 19th December 2008. The Tribunal took note of the objects of the Trust and came to the conclusion that the Trust was carrying on its activities on noncommercial basis with no motive to earn profit. The aims and objects of the Trust were charitable in nature. While implementing such objects, if there was any profit, incidentally generated, the same would not be hit by proviso to section 2 (15) of the Act. In the conclusion, the Tribunal clarified that the decision was delivered in peculiar facts of the case and would not apply to a case where the trust is doing business or trade under the grab of charitable activities. The Revenue is therefore O/TAXAP/1162/2013 JUDGMENT before us in the present Tax Appeal, raising aforementioned questions of law.
Many activities of genuine charitable purposes which are not in the nature of trade, commerce or business may still generate marketable products. After setting off of the cost, for production of such marketable products from the sale consideration, the activity may leave a surplus. The law does not expect the Trust to dispose of its produce at any consideration less than the market value. If there is any surplus generated at the end of the year, that by itself would not be the sole consideration for judging whether any activity is trade, commerce or business particularly if generating 'surplus' is wholly incidental to the principal activities of the trust; which is otherwise for general public utility, and therefore, of charitable nature. The Tribunal took into account the objects of the Trust, which are as under : "1. To breed the cattle and endeavour to improve the quality of the cows and oxen in view of the need of good oxen as India is prominent agricultural country and the cow milk as food is both conducive to and requisite for good health and longevity of human life. In order to improve the O/TAXAP/1162/2013 JUDGMENT quality of the cattle, it is very essential to use a high quality bulls. Hence to produce and to get produced the best pedigreed bulls and to castrate the scrub bulls and propagate the work to prepare bullocks by castrating the bulls which do not become good bulls.
We are wholly in agreement with the view of the Tribunal. The objects of the Trust clearly establish that the same was for general public utility and where for charitable purposes. The main objectives of the trust are to breed the cattle and endeavour to improve the quality of the cows and oxen in view of the need of good oxen as India is prominent O/TAXAP/1162/2013 JUDGMENT agricultural country; to produce and sale the cow milk; to hold and cultivate agricultural lands; to keep grazing lands for cattle keeping and breeding; to rehabilitate and assist Rabaris and Bharwads; to make necessary arrangements for getting informatics and scientific knowledge and to do scientific research with regard to keeping and breeding of the cattle, agriculture, use of milk and its various preparations, etc.; to establish other allied institutions like leather work and to recognize and help them in order to make the cow keeping economically viable; to publish study materials, books, periodicals, monthlies etc., in order to publicize the objects of the trust as also to open schools and hostels for imparting eduction in cow keeping and agriculture having regard to the trust objects.