Anonymous donations to a religious-cum-charitable trust fall within the section 115BBC exception despite section 80G registration.

Anonymous donations received by a trust were held outside section 115BBC(1) where the trust deed and governing State enactment showed objects of both religious worship and charitable welfare. Section 115BBC(2)(b) applies to trusts established wholly for religious and charitable purposes, and that factual character is decisive. Registration under section 80G does not, by itself, defeat this exception because section 80G concerns deductibility of donations and operates in a different field. The Revenue's challenge failed since the concurrent factual findings that the trust was religious-cum-charitable were not shown to be perverse.

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Issues: Whether anonymous donations received by a trust established for both religious and charitable purposes were taxable under section 115BBC of the Income-tax Act, 1961 merely because the trust held registration under section 80G of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: The trust deed and the special State enactment governing the trust showed that its objects included worship, rituals, festivals, propagation of religious teachings, amenities for devotees, and also charitable and welfare activities. On that factual foundation, the trust was held to be a religious and charitable institution. Section 80G and section 115BBC operate in distinct fields: section 80G concerns deductibility of donations and contains a quantitative religious-expenditure test, while section 115BBC(2)(b) creates an exception for trusts established wholly for religious and charitable purposes. Registration under section 80G does not, by itself, negate the applicability of the section 115BBC(2)(b) exception. The concurrent factual findings were not shown to be perverse.

Conclusion: The anonymous donations were not taxable under section 115BBC(1) because the assessee fell within the exception in section 115BBC(2)(b), and the Revenue's reliance on section 80G failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the trust's governing instruments and statutory framework show that it is established for both religious and charitable purposes, section 115BBC(2)(b) applies on a factual determination of the trust's character, and section 80G registration does not, by itself, exclude that statutory exception.

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