TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2013 (6) TMI 750
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....nder: "That the Learned Commissioner of Income Tax has erred in law in rejecting the appellants application u/s 12-AA for registration. The appellant is discharging his functions solely for advancement of general public utility service i.e. agriculture and its activities are not been carried out in a commercial manner." 3. The learned D.R. for the Revenue at the outset pointed out that the issue in the present appeal is covered against the assessee by the order of the Hon'ble Andhra Pradesh High Court in Andhra Pradesh State Seeds Certification Agency v . Chief CIT [2013] 212 Taxman 493/[2012] 28 taxmann.com 288. 4. The learned A.R. for the assessee pointed out that the issue stands covered by the order of the Chandigarh Bench ....
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....2(15) of the Income Tax Act Finance Act, 2008, w.e.f . A.Y . 2009-10, there remains no case at all for registration of the authority under section 12A of the Income Tax Act. As noted above also, the claim of the society as charitable organization is belied from perusal of chart enclosed with its reply, depicting fees under various heads charged by the Society." 6. In view thereof, the application moved by the assessee for registration of the society under section 12A of the Act was rejected. 7. The assessee is in appeal against the said rejection of application for registration moved under section 12A of the Act. 8. The Hon'ble Andhra Pradesh High Court in Andhra Pradesh State Seeds Certification Agency (supra) considered the a....
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....water sheds, forests and wild life) and preservation of monuments or places or objects of artistic or historic interests, would automatically come within the purview of "charitable purpose", activities which advance "any other object of general public utility" would qualify only if such activity does not involve: (i) carrying on of any activity in the nature of trade, commerce or business; (ii) any activity of rendering any service in relation to any trade, commerce or business. 17. Section 8 of the Seeds Act, 1966 empowers the State Government or the Central Government in consultation with the State Government to establish, by notification in the official gazette, a certification agency for the State to carry out the functions ent....
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.... or industry. The activity of the petitioner which facilitates sale of certified seeds to farmers therefore falls within "advancement of any other object of general public utility" included in the definition of the term " charitable purpose" as defined in Section 2 (15) of the Act but in view of the fact that certification of seeds by the petitioner facilitates trade, commerce or business in the certified seeds by the client of the petitioner, the proviso to the said section would come into operation. Thus the petitioner's activity assists the sale of certified seeds and is "in relation to any trade, commerce or business" and therefore its activity cannot be held to be a "charitable purpose". In this view of the matter, we hold that the....
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....ce or business, it has to be examined whether the words " any trade, commerce or business" as they appear in the second limb of clause (b) are in connection with the service referred to the trade, commerce or business pursued by the institutions to which the service is given by the assessee. If the said words are actually in respect of the trade commerce or business of the assessee itself, the said clause (second limb of the stipulation under clause (b) is rather otiose. Since the activity of the assessee involving any trade commerce or business, is already excluded from the charitable purpose by virtue of the first limb (clause (a)) itself, there is no necessity to stipulate further, by way of clause (b), adding the words "or any activity ....
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....hra Pradesh High Court was in respect of registration under section 10(23) of the Act but the basic aspect to be considered in both the cases is whether the assessee was carrying on chargeable activities, which in turn entitled it to the registration under the respective section/s. The term 'charitable purpose' is defined under section 2(15) of the Act and the proviso has been inserted by Finance (No.2) Act, 2009, which has provided that though the relief of the poor, education, medical relief, preservation of environment and preservation of monuments or places or objects of artistic or historic interest automatically fall within the purview of charitable purpose but the activities which are in the nature of "any other object of gen....