Charitable office premises qualify for property tax exemption when used exclusively to administer charitable activities.

Premises exclusively occupied and used as the administrative office of a charitable organisation were held to fall within the property tax exemption under Section 115(4) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, where the other statutory conditions were satisfied. The exemption was construed to cover premises that form an essential and integral part of charitable activity, because a charity must maintain an office to administer and manage its functions. The provision was not limited to locations where direct charitable work is physically carried out, and a narrow reading excluding administrative offices was rejected. The denial of exemption was therefore unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether premises exclusively occupied and used as the administrative office of a charitable organisation are entitled to exemption from property tax under Section 115(4) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957.

Analysis: The exemption provision applies to lands and buildings or portions thereof exclusively occupied and used by a society or body for a charitable purpose, provided the other statutory conditions are satisfied. The decisive question was whether use of the premises as an office for administering charitable activities takes the premises outside the exemption. A charitable organisation necessarily requires an administrative office to carry on and manage its charitable functions, and such office premises form an essential and integral part of its charitable activities. The provision could not be confined only to the place where direct charitable work is physically performed, because that would be an unduly narrow and unrealistic construction.

Conclusion: The premises used exclusively as the office for administering the charitable activities were covered by the exemption, and the denial of exemption was unsustainable.

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