Khodiyar Gau Seva Vs CIT (Exemption) (ITAT Rajkot)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Rajkot Bench, has set aside an order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption), Ahmedabad, which had rejected the application for registration under Section 12AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961, filed by Khodiyar Gau Seva. The Tribunal’s decision, dated December 18, 2023, remands the matter back to the tax authorities for a fresh adjudication, emphasizing the procedural fairness required in such registration processes.
Khodiyar Gau Seva, the appellant-assessee, identifies itself as a charitable trust primarily engaged in extensive cow welfare activities. The trust’s stated objectives and activities are broad, encompassing the construction and maintenance of cowsheds, offering assistance in the grooming, treatment, rearing, care, and maintenance of sick, malformed, abandoned, or unowned cows and cattle. Beyond routine care, the trust’s scope extends to providing protection for cows from adverse weather conditions such as rain and sun.
In times of natural calamities, including drought, excessive rainfall, floods, scarcity, cyclones, or epidemics, Khodiyar Gau Seva’s activities include establishing camps and observation centers. They aim to provide essential resources like grass, medicine, medical treatment, and vaccinations for needy, injured, and infected animals or cows. The trust also seeks to gather, supply, and disseminate necessary guidance and information, along with making all requisite arrangements for the dairy industry, its allied sectors, or milk production societies.
