9911796707
|
Home
Issues Involved:
1. Whether the trust is for any public purposes of a charitable or religious nature and therefore exempt from payment of wealth-tax under section 5(1)(i) of the Wealth-tax Act. Issue-wise Detailed Analysis: 1. Public Purpose of Charitable or Religious Nature: The primary issue was whether the trust, "Jehangir Pestonji Pardiwala Charity Trust," qualifies for exemption from wealth-tax as it is purportedly for public purposes of a charitable or religious nature. The assessment years in question were 1957-58 and 1958-59. Clause Analysis: - Clause 2 of the Trust Deed: This clause allowed trustees to apply the income of the trust property to various religious ceremonies, charitable, benevolent, and other specified objects. - Third Schedule: The first four clauses of the third schedule were undisputedly for public purposes of a charitable nature, including relief for the deaf, dumb, blind, and indigent members, support for famine victims, educational purposes, and maintenance of hospitals. Disputed Clauses: - Clause 5: This clause provided for paying over to the Parsi Anjuman Agiary Fund or the Parsee Panchayat for religious ceremonies for the repose of the souls of the deceased members of the settlor's family. The court held that these ceremonies, although for the repose of individual souls, also benefit mankind at large and are thus for a public religious purpose. - Clause 6: This clause allowed for contributions towards the support and maintenance of the settlor's relatives and other indigent persons. The court interpreted this clause to mean that the trust could support only indigent persons, whether they are relatives or not, thus maintaining the public charitable nature of the trust. Wealth-tax Officer's View: The Wealth-tax Officer initially rejected the exemption claim, arguing that the trust could apply income to non-public purposes, specifically aiding the settlor's descendants regardless of their financial condition. Appellate Assistant Commissioner and Tribunal's View: Both the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal disagreed with the Wealth-tax Officer, relying on precedents that supported the charitable nature of such trusts. Court's Conclusion: The court concluded that the trust was indeed for public purposes of a charitable and religious nature. The court emphasized that the trust deed, when read as a whole, indicated a public, religious, and charitable intent. The court also referred to previous judgments, including Jamshedji Cursetjee Tarachand v. Soonabai and Trustees of the Charity Fund v. Commissioner of Income-tax, to support its conclusion. Conclusion: The court answered the referred question in the affirmative, stating that the trust property is exempt from wealth-tax under section 5(1)(i) of the Wealth-tax Act. The Commissioner was ordered to pay the costs of the assessee.
|
