Case Law Details
The AO noted in the assessment order that the assessee society is running maternity hospital and all services pertaining to maternity only. Maternity is a natural process and could not be termed as illness or disease. Giving birth and at that time hospital providing services for delivery could not be said to be providing any treatment for illness or mental defectiveness.
Further in absence of any details or evidences available on record, we do not find it to be a fit case for interference and the ld. CIT(A) was therefore justified in holding that the ingredients of above section are not fulfilled in the case of assessee. The ld. counsel for the assessee pointed out from the paper book, the application of income and details of deliveries and operations conducted in this regard, which is not sufficient to grant relief under the above provisions to the assessee. It is worthwhile pointing out that the child birth is the natural process of God and it is certainly the God’s grace which is extended to sustain us through it. It is the act of God who designs a child conceived in the womb to be born into this world. In olden days deliveries of children were perfectly conducted by midwives at home, but in the modern age, it is only because the anxiety of people that they would not be able to manage the discomfort or pains during labor, they choose to take better facilities in the hospitals in presence of Doctors for this purpose. Thus, it may be said that the assessee’s maternity hospital in the instant case would have been facilitating the deliveries, i.e., a natural process of God. It, therefore, can in no way be said to be any illness to be treated in the assessee’s hospital as envisaged u/s. 10(23C)(iiiae). Therefore, the ingredients of section 10(23C)(iiiae) being not fulfilled, the ld. CIT(A) has rightly disallowed the claim of assessee.
INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, AGRA BENCH, AGRA
BEFORE : SHRI BHAVNESH SAINI, JUDICIAL MEMBER AND
SHRI A.L. GEHLOT, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER
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What a bliss ful ignorance! The section provides interalia “suffering from illness or mental defectiveness or for the reception and treatment of persons during convalescence or of persons requiring medical attention or rehabilitation”. Child birth is in hospital to correct the mistakes of the nature. If the nature does not correctly help in child birth then? Can the last limb “persons requiring medical attention and rehabilitation” be ignored as surplus language? With all respects the judgment is not correct appreciation.
AP Agrawal
Retd. Member
Delhi Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal
Now a days, not all the pregnancy are natural process. Today IVF techniques also present. We cant say it is all natural process.
It is a bad order in the modern era. Nowadays children are born in hospitals with substantial care of the doctors. still the child mortality has not come down. when a pregnant mother is admitted, medicines are administered from the moment of admission till discharge. If you call it a natural process, why hospital and doctors should attend the mother and child. Because of such bad and illogical judgementa, litigations are continuing and mounting pressures on the Courts. Some disqualifying procedures should be adopted for such repeated and casual orders.
In my personal opinion, the Hob’ble Tribunal need to recosider its order. Before xoming to conclusion the Tribubal should have taken expert opinion of medical professionals. During midwifes days the mothers were healthy enough to face risks involved during delivery to a certain extent.. In hospitals serious cases/emergency cases can be tackled successfully. Even one life saved in hospital it is a service. Need the order to be recosidered.