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3. Propter commoditatem, we would refer to the conspectus of facts in the lead case for the disposal of the instant batch of appeals. The respondent is a registered Public Trust under the M.P. Public Trusts Act, 1951. The respondent had filed an application for registration before the Commissioner of Income Tax (for short "the Commissioner") as envisaged under Section 12A read with Section 12AA of the Act for availing the exemption under Section 11 of the Act. The Commissioner, after affording an opportunity of hearing to the applicants, had come to the conclusion that the respondent is a charitable trust and since the object and purpose of the trust is confined only to a particular religious community the same would attract the provisions of Section 13(1)(b) of the Act and therefore, declined the prayer made for registration of the trust by his order dated 14.09.2007.

13. Section 11 deals with income from trusts for charitable and religious purposes and sets out which income shall be exigible to taxation. Section 11(1) relates to application of income towards the objects of the trust and exempts income of trusts with objects wholly charitable or religious or parts of income which relate to such objects. Section 11(1A) provides for exemption of capital gains derived by trusts. Section 11(1B), speaks of failure to apply income as per option under Explanation (2) to section 11(1). Section 11(2) relates to setting apart or accumulation of income. Section 11(3) deals with consequences of misapplication of income or improper investment. While Section 11(3A) relates to modification of purposes specified in Form No. 10 under section 11(2), Sections 11(4) & 11(4A) relate to business income of charitable trusts. Lastly, Section 11 (5) provides for the  prescribed modes of investment in regard to the said trusts.

32.This Court in several decisions has reiterated the aforesaid test of predominant purpose and held that the purposes which would yield to profit or not in general public interest could be separated and the trust would only be exigible to tax to the extent of the charitable purposes under its objects. In CIT v. Kamla Town Trust, (1996) 7 SCC 349, the object of the trust included construction of houses for workmen in general and in particular for the workmen, staff and other employees of the settler company. It was held that while the provisions relating to workmen in general did constitute a charitable object, the words "in particular for workmen of the company" negative the charitable purpose and therefore, the entire trust could not be considered to have been established wholly for charitable purpose.

41.Therefore, the objects of the trust exhibit the dual tenor of religious and charitable purposes and activities. Section 11 of the Act shelters such trust with composite objects to claim exemption from tax as a religious and charitable trust subject to provisions of Section 13. The activities of the trust under such objects would therefore be entitled to exemption accordingly.

42.We would now proceed to examine the objects under the provisions of Section 13(1)(b) of the Act. It becomes amply clear from the language employed in the provisions that Section 13 is in the nature of an exemption from applicability of Sections 11 or 12 and the examination of its applicability would only arise at the stage of claim under Sections 11 or 12. Thus, where the income of a trust is eligible for exemption under section 11, the eligibility for claiming exemption ought to be tested on the touchstone  of the provisions of section 13. In the instant case, it being established that the respondent-trust is a public charitable and religious trust eligible for claiming exemption under Section 11, it becomes relevant to test it on the anvil of Section 13.