Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry Vs Deputy Director of Income Tax (ITAT Kolkata)
ITAT Kolkata allowed the appeal of The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry, holding that it is entitled to registration u/s 12A & consequent exemption u/s 11. AO had denied exemption treating the Chamber as a non-charitable entity, & added various expenditures-such as contributions to provident & superannuation funds, gratuity, building repairs, doubtful debts, & donations-to taxable income. CIT(A) upheld the denial, observing that the Chamber was not registered u/s 12A for the relevant year.
Before the Tribunal, Assessee contended that it had applied for 12A registration in 1973 but received no communication thereafter, & that registration had subsequently been granted for AYs 2011-12 & 2012-13 based on the ITAT’s earlier directions. Tribunal noted that in its own order for those years (ITA Nos. 705 & 706/KOL/2019), it had already held that the objects & activities of the Chamber were charitable in nature, being analogous to those of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, & that the amendment to section 2(15) by Finance Act 2008 did not alter this position. Following the principle of consistency, the Tribunal concluded that the same reasoning must apply for AY 2010-11 as well. It held that there was no justification for the Revenue to deny registration u/s 12A & the related benefits u/s 11. Accordingly, the appeal of the Assessee was allowed in full.
