Case Law Details
Shree Swaminarayan Bhagwan Vs ITO (ITAT Ahmedabad)
Introduction: In a significant decision, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) in Ahmedabad ruled in favor of Shree Swaminarayan Bhagwan, a religious trust, providing tax exemption on a gold donation it received. The decision was based on the stipulations outlined under Section 11(1)(d) of the Income Tax Act, considering the gold donation as corpus donation since it was used for the specific purpose of preparing an art gallery depicting the life and teachings of Bhagawan Swaminarayan.
Analysis: The case primarily revolved around whether the gold donation received by the trust was eligible for exemption under Section 11(1)(d) of the Income Tax Act. The tax department argued that there was no specific direction mentioned on the receipts, hence disallowing it as corpus donation. However, the ITAT found the trust had maintained detailed records indicating the specific use of the donation and had also obtained confirmation from donors that the gold was indeed a corpus donation meant for the art gallery and ceiling of the gallery room.
ITAT held that evidences provided by the assessee trust are more specific about the donations in Gold to be in respect of corpus gold fund and therefore, it is a corpus fund of the trust which is allowable as exempt under Section 11(1)(d) of the Act.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT AHMEDABAD
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