Dividend is not exempt under Section 10(34) read with Section 115-O because the companies from whom the assessee received the dividend has not paid dividend distribution tax. His claim is that the dividend received by the assessee company is exempt on account of mutuality because those companies which paid dividend to the assessee are also either cooperative banks or the companies which are basically rendering services to the cooperative societies.
We are unable to accept the contention of the assessee. When the assessee claims any exemption on the ground of mutuality, the burden is upon the assessee to establish so. In this case, the learned counsel could not justify how the dividend received by the assessee from three different companies is covered under the concept of mutuality. The assessee has received the dividend on account of assessee’s investment in those companies. The dividend is not the contribution to the assessee by those companies and moreover, the assessee is not rendering services to them. In view of the above, we hold that the assessee’s contention that dividend received from those companies is exempt on account of mutuality is untenable. The same is rejected.
