2020 (2) TMI 1359 - HC - Income Tax

Exemption u/s 11 12 - As per revenue assessee is involved in widespread commercial activities in nature of business and the activity of the assessee is covered under the provisions of section 2(15) and thus exemption u/s.11 12 of the Act is not allowable to the assessee - ITAT allowed exemption - HELD THAT - Questions of law, as proposed by the Revenue, are squarely covered by a decision of this Court in the case of Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority vs. ACIT (Exemption), 2017 2017 (5) TMI 1468 - GUJARAT HIGH COURT - none of the questions of law, as proposed by the Revenue, are res integra.

Summary

Issues:
- Appeal against order passed by Income Tax Appellate Tribunal
- Questions of law regarding exemptions u/s.11 & 12 of the Act
- Justification of Tribunal's decision in allowing exemptions
- Applicability of previous court decisions on the case

Analysis:
The High Court of Gujarat heard an appeal filed by the Revenue against the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Ahmedabad. The appeal was related to the assessment year 2011-12. The Revenue raised questions of law regarding the justification of allowing exemptions under sections 11 and 12 of the Income Tax Act. The questions raised included whether the Tribunal was correct in granting exemptions to the assessee, considering the commercial nature of the activities and the applicability of section 2(15) of the Act. The Revenue also questioned the reliance on previous court decisions, such as the case of Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority vs. ACIT (Exemption) and CIT vs. Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation.

The High Court noted that all the questions raised by the Revenue were already addressed in a previous decision of the Court in the case of Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority vs. ACIT (Exemption). The Court emphasized that the issues raised by the Revenue were not new and had already been settled in the aforementioned case. Therefore, the Court found that there was no need to reconsider the questions of law as they were already decided in the previous judgment. Consequently, the Court dismissed the appeal, stating that the questions raised by the Revenue were not res integra and the appeal failed on those grounds.

In conclusion, the High Court upheld the decision of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and dismissed the appeal filed by the Revenue. The Court relied on a previous judgment to establish that the questions of law raised by the Revenue had already been settled and did not require further consideration.