Agency collections for charitable disbursement were not trading receipts and did not constitute the assessee's income.

Laga collections made under the prevailing custom in the Mattancherry bazaar for specified charitable disbursements were treated as collections held for distribution, not as trading receipts of the business. The assessee-firm acted only as an agent in passing on the amounts to charities, so the receipts lacked the character of income in its hands. On that basis, the collections were held not to constitute the assessee's income, and the issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

---

---

Issues: Whether the laga collections made by the assessee-firm constituted its income.

Analysis: The collections were made in accordance with the custom prevailing in the Mattancherry bazaar for specified charitable disbursements. The assessee acted only as an agent for distribution of the collections towards charities, and the receipts were not treated as trading receipts of the business.

Conclusion: The laga collections did not constitute the assessee's income and the question was answered in favour of the assessee and against the Revenue.

---