Exemption under s 11 to charitable trust, if it acquires tenancy right in respect of some immovable property owned by a different person

Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Sambuddha Chakrabarti, JJ

Decided on: 31 March 2011

Counsel appeared:

M.P. Agarwal for the appellant

J.P. Khaitan for the aespondent

Judgement

Bhaskar Bhattacharya, J.-

This appeal under section 260A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 is at the instance of the Revenue and is directed against an order dated August 10, 2000, passed by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, “D” Bench, Calcutta, in ITA No.2659 (Cal) of 1994 relating to the Assessment Year 1991-92 thereby dismissing the appeal preferred by the Revenue against an order passed by the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals).

2. The facts giving rise to filing of this appeal may be summed up thus:

a) The assessee is a charitable trust and society and was enjoying exemption in the earlier assessment years. While making assessment for the relevant assessment year, the Assessing Officer was of the view that as the assessee was earning rent from the properties which were not owned by it, the said exercise done by the assessee for earning income is not incidental to the attainment of the object of the trust and accordingly, the said rental income received by the assessee was assessed as income from business by applying the provisions of section 11 (4A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

b) Being dissatisfied, the assessee preferred an appeal before the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) and the said Appellate Authority held that the provision of section 11 (4A) was not attracted and the income earned by letting out the property was for the charitable object and hence, the exemption under section 11 of the Act was allowed.

c) Being dissatisfied, the Revenue preferred an appeal before the Tribunal below and it was contended that by letting out the tenanted property, the trust was engaged in business activity by earning rental income derived from subletting and hence, the exemption should not be granted to the assessee.

d) The Tribunal below, however, turned down such objection of the Revenue of holding that to enable the trust to carry out its charitable object in effective manner if rental income was received by way of subletting, for that reason, the exemption could not have been denied by the Assessing Officer. It was further pointed out that in the past also, the assessee got the benefit of exemption in respect of the selfsame rental income and, therefore, there was no just reason for disallowing the relief claimed.