ITAT Upholds Exemption for Religious Society Despite Violation

The ITAT dismissed the Revenue's appeal against the order allowing exemption under section 11 of the I.T. Act, 1961 for a society engaged in religious activities, despite violating section 13(1)(b) of the Act. The ITAT upheld the exemption claim based on precedent from the assessee's case for the previous assessment year, noting the lack of new evidence or contrary decisions presented by the Revenue. The ITAT rejected the argument to keep the matter pending due to appeals in the High Court, emphasizing the finality of their decision and ultimately dismissing the Revenue's appeal for the assessment year 2010-11.

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Issues involved:
Appeal against order allowing exemption u/s 11 of the I.T. Act, 1961 for a society set up for religious activities in violation of section 13(1)(b) of the Act.

Analysis:
The appeal by the Revenue for the assessment year 2010-11 challenged the order of the learned CIT(A)-XXI, New Delhi dated 27th January, 2014. The only ground raised was regarding the exemption u/s 11 of the I.T. Act, 1961, which was denied by the Assessing Officer due to the society being set up for religious activities, violating section 13(1)(b) of the Act. The ITAT found the issue in favor of the assessee based on a previous decision in the assessee's own case for assessment year 2009-10. The ITAT considered various decisions in earlier years and upheld the exemption claim for the assessee. The ITAT noted that the Revenue had not presented any material to counter the findings of the CIT(A) or provided any contrary decisions to warrant a different view. Thus, the ITAT dismissed the Revenue's appeal, following the precedent set in the earlier year.

In response to the Revenue's argument that the matter should be kept pending due to appeals in earlier years being before the High Court, the ITAT held that the pendency of appeals in the High Court was not a sufficient reason to delay the decision. Relying on the decision in the assessee's case for the assessment year 2009-10, the ITAT upheld the CIT(A)'s order and dismissed the Revenue's appeal. The ITAT concluded by pronouncing the decision in open court on 29.06.2016, thereby dismissing the appeal of the Revenue for the assessment year 2010-11.

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