9911796707
TMI Blog1995 (7) TMI 11X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the facts and circumstances of the case, the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal was justified in holding that the pension received by a widow of an ex-employee of the U. N. O. is exempt from the Income-tax Act ? " The said question arose out of the orders of assessment for the assessment years 1972-74 (sic) to 1975-76. The assessee is a widow of one late Shri Durvesh Alam Quadri, who was in the service of the United Nations Organisation from 1961 and died in harness in 1965. His widow, the assessee, was granted pension from the United Nations joint Staff Pension Funds. For the said years, she received Rs. 19,890 as family pension, Before the Income-tax Officer she claimed exemption under section 18(b) of article V of the United Nations (Privi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ht in holding that the pension received by the widow was exempted. The conventions on the privileges and immunities enjoyed by the international organisations and their representatives and officials, were adopted by the general assembly of the United Nations on February 13, 1946. To give effect to those conventions and immunities, the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947, was enacted by Parliament. The Act came into force with effect from December 20, 1947. It contains four sections. Section 2 of the Act provides that notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other law, the provisions set out in the Schedule to the Act of the convention of the privileges and immunities shall have the force of law in India. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dule to the Act, would become applicable and accordingly the pension received by such an employee from the United Nations was exempted from taxation. On identical facts dealing with the question of taxability of an erstwhile employee of the United Nations, a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court has also taken the same view in CIT v. Dr. P. L. Narula [1984] 150 ITR 21. In CIT v. Smt. Dipali Goswami [1985] 156 ITR 36, the question before a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court was, whether the pension payable to a widow of an official of the United Nations who died in harness would be exempt under section 18(b) of article V of the Act. The Calcutta High Court took the view that the payment of pension was generally in consideration of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ation from the funds of the United Nations from out of which the pension is paid, the principle contained in section 18(b) of article V is clearly attracted. To the same effect is the view expressed by the Calcutta High Court in the abovesaid judgment. We respectfully agree with the observations of the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court in the abovesaid case. We may also point out here that the said judgment of the Calcutta High Court was followed by a Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court in Smt. Usha Shah v. CIT [1989] 175 ITR 572. For the above reasons, we approve the judgment of the Tribunal and accordingly answer the question in the affirmative, i.e., in favour of the assessee and against the Revenue. The question is acco ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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