9911796707
TMI Blog2024 (11) TMI 192X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he trust, the assessee - trust under consideration, is open for benefit for all sections of society and general public. That is, the facilities provided by the assessee- trust are intended to serve the needs of attendees of various activities without any discrimination based on caste, colour, or creed. Hence, assessee - trust deserve for registration. Activities of running Atithigruh and Bhojansala - We find that these are not commercial activity. The Atithigruh facilities are intended to serve the needs of attendees of various activities without any discrimination based on caste, colour, or creed, hence, it is not a commercial activity. Besides, Bhojansala is only for providing food to the poor and needy persons of the general public without any discrimination. It is open only for poor and needy persons to provide them food. No any specific community and caste is taking benefit, exclusively, for the Atithigruh and Bhojansala these Atithigruh and Bhojansala are needed to run the charitable activities. Therefore, none of the objects of the assessee-trust, are restricted to any particular community and caste. Expenditure incurred on the objects of the trust - We find that assessee -t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ties of the assessee a notice was issued by the CIT (Exemptions), Ahmedabad through ITBA portal on 11/07/2023 requesting the assessee to upload certain information/clarification such as: (i) Copy of trust deed. (ii) Date of commencement of activity with proof. (iii) Date of expiry of provisional registration u/s 12AB (as per Form No.10AC) (iv) Registration under section 12A or 12AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961 prior to 01/04/2021. If yes, copy of such registration order. (v) List of all (v) donations received, etc. 4. In response, the assessee furnished its reply before ld.CIT(E), on 21/07/2023. The information submitted by the assessee along with the application was verified by ld CIT(E), wherein various discrepancies were noticed, therefore, a show cause notice was then issued to the assessee on 14/08/2023 and the discrepancies were duly communicated to the assessee, which are reproduced below: (i) As per the provisions of Rule 17A(2)(g) of the Income Tax Rules, 1962, the application in Form No.10AB shall be accompanied by the self certified copies of annual accounts relating to earlier three years or since inception, whichever is later. Thus, the annual accounts for the F.Y. 2019 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... respective of their religion and/or caste from all walks of life to object 'construction of a crematorium and the maintenance of religious establishments' and 'who are seeking food, cloth, and shelter to make their pious life comfortable and careful, to object 'maintain and manage temple, gurumandir, upashraya' which were not part of the original text. (iii) Similarly, the Trust's interpretation of Atithigruh and Bhojansala contradicts their commonly accepted meanings. The words Atithigruh and Bhojansala indeed translate to Guest House and Canteen respectively, as confirmed by various dictionaries. Also, the assessee has not clarified that these activities are not intended to be carried out in commercial manner. (iv) Considering the above findings, it is clear that the assessee's contention, specifically the additional phrases and explanations added in its response, deviates from the original intent and wording of the Trust Deed. These modifications were not part of the original document and, therefore, cannot be considered as valid representations of the Trust's objectives. The assessee could not prove that the objects of the trust are not for a par ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nts are aimed at providing facilities for Sadhu Saints from diverse back grounds, emphasizing that these activities are not exclusive to any particular religion or community. The Atithigruh and Bhojansala are facilities for attendees of various activities without any discrimination based on caste, colour, or creed. The Ld. Counsel also took us through paper book page no.37 and stated that assessee has submitted all documents and evidences before the Ld. CIT(E), therefore, the registration should be granted to the assessee. 9. The Ld. Counsel also stated that assessee has submitted enough documents and evidences to prove the genuineness of its activities and objects, however Ld. CIT(E) rejected the same without considering the documents and evidence in right perspective, which is not acceptable. 10. On the other hand, the Learned Commissioner of Income Tax Departmental Representative (Ld. CIT-DR) submitted that first of all the assessee has failed to prove the genuineness of its activities. The assessee trust has not been carried out any activities after granting provisional registration. The Ld. CIT-DR also pointed out that some of the objects of the trust are commercial in nature, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ommunity or caste; or .. We have gone through the above Clause (d) of Explanation of sub-section (4) of section 12AB of the Act and noted that the assessee -trust, under consideration is not for the benefit of any particular religious community or cast, it is open for the benefit of the general public, as evident from the object of the assessee- trust, therefore we do not accept the contention raised by the Ld. CIT-DR for the Revenue, to the effect that the assessee- trust was created only for the benefit of particular persons or community or caste. As per the objects of the trust, the assessee- trust under consideration, is open for benefit for all sections of society and general public. That is, the facilities provided by the assessee- trust are intended to serve the needs of attendees of various activities without any discrimination based on caste, colour, or creed. Hence, assessee- trust deserve for registration. 13. So far the activities of running Atithigruh and Bhojansala are concerned, we find that these are not commercial activity. The Atithigruh facilities are intended to serve the needs of attendees of various activities without any discrimination based on caste, colour, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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