Kinchitkaram Trust Vs CIT Exemption (ITAT Chennai)
Summary: ITAT Chennai allowed two connected appeals of Kinchitkaram Trust concerning its classification under Section 12AB and consequential eligibility for approval under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The CIT (Exemptions) had granted registration under Section 12AB(1)(b) but classified the assessee as a “religious cum charitable trust”. The trust challenged the inclusion of the word “religious”, contending that its activities involving Vedic education, Vedas, Vedanta, Divyaprabandham and related teachings were charitable and educational in character. It submitted that there had been no change in its activities and that it had historically been treated as a charitable trust.
The assessee relied upon several judicial decisions to contend that Hinduism has been judicially described in a wider sense as a way of life and that teaching or propagation of Vedic knowledge does not necessarily constitute religious activity. Reliance was placed, inter alia, on Dr. Ramesh Yeshwant Prabhoo v. Shri Prabhakar Kashinath Kunte & Ors.; T.T. Kuppuswamy Chettiayar & Ors. v. State of Tamil Nadu; Shiv Mandir Devsttan Panch Committee Sanstan v. CIT; Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya v. State of MP; Ashvalayana Vrunda v. ITO; Shruthiparampara Gurukulam v. ITO; and Shrouta Vijnan Gurukulam v. ITO. The assessee also relied upon recognition by UNESCO of the tradition of Vedic chanting as intangible cultural heritage.
