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2019 (2) TMI 1699 - HC - Income TaxAssessment of trust - Applicability of provisions of Sec.164(1) - whether the assessee trust cannot be assessed as on AOP? - ITAT held that the income of the assessee is taxable in the hands of contributors and not in the hands of the AOP - whether ITAT erred in holding that activities of the assessee are not commercial in nature even though the assessee has not carried out any activity in the spirit of Trust? - HELD THAT - As decided in M/S. INDIA ADVANTAGE FUND, M/S. ICICI EMERGING SECTORS, M/S. ICICI ECONET INTERNET TECHNOLOGY FUND 2017 (2) TMI 722 - KARNATAKA HIGH COURT we cannot accept the contention of the Revenue that the shares were non-determinable or the view taken by the Tribunal is perverse. On the contrary, we do find that the view taken by the Tribunal is correct and would not call for interference so far as determinability of the shares of the beneficiaries are concerned. Once the shares of the beneficiaries are found to be determinable, the income is to be taxed of that respective sharer or the beneficiaries in the hands of the beneficiary and not in the hands of the trustees which has already been shown in the present case - Decided against revenue
Issues:
1. Whether the income of the assessee is taxable in the hands of contributors or in the hands of the AOP? 2. Whether the activities of the assessee are commercial in nature even though the assessee has not carried out any activity in the spirit of Trust? Analysis: 1. The High Court heard an appeal by the Revenue against the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) regarding the taxability of the income of a Trust for the assessment year 2009-2010. The Tribunal had ruled in favor of the Respondent Assessee, relying on a judgment of the Bangaluru Bench of Karnataka High Court. The Tribunal held that the income should be taxed in the hands of the contributors and not in the hands of the Association of Persons (AOP). The High Court noted that the Karnataka High Court had previously dismissed a similar appeal by the Revenue in the case of Commissioner of Income Tax v/s India Advantage Fund - VII, affirming that the income should be taxed in the hands of the beneficiaries and not the trustees. The High Court, based on the precedent, upheld the Tribunal's decision, stating that once the shares of the beneficiaries are determinable, the income should be taxed in the hands of the respective sharers or beneficiaries and not in the hands of the trustees. 2. The second issue raised was whether the activities of the assessee Trust are commercial in nature, even though the Trust did not carry out any activities in the spirit of Trust. The High Court did not delve into this issue in detail in the provided summary, as the main focus was on the taxability of the income. However, it can be inferred that the High Court's decision to dismiss the appeal indicates that the commercial nature of the activities was not a determining factor in the taxability of the income. The judgment primarily emphasized the determinability of shares and the taxation of income in the hands of beneficiaries based on established legal principles. In conclusion, the High Court dismissed the Revenue's appeal, upholding the Tribunal's decision to tax the income of the Trust in the hands of the contributors or beneficiaries, as determined by the shares, and not in the hands of the trustees. The judgment highlighted the importance of determinability of shares and established legal precedents in determining the tax liability of beneficiaries in such cases.
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