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2001 (2) TMI 1027

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....nd for that purpose to institute a scheme of examinations and to give certificates, scholarships and prizes. (ii)To promote information on banking and kindred subjects by lectures, discussions, books, correspondence with public bodies and individuals, or otherwise. (iii)To collect and circulate statistics, and other information, relating to the business of banking in India. (iv)To acquire by purchase, donation or otherwise and to maintain, extend and improve a library consisting of works on banking, commerce, finance, political economy, and kindred subjects. Clause (4) of the memorandum says that the income of the assessee shall not be distributed by way of dividend to its members and clause (8) says that in case of winding up, the assets shall not be distributed to the members but shall be handed over to another institution which has similar objects. 3. It appears that from the inception (1928) the income of the assessee has been exempt under the IT Act in its assessments and the position continued till the assessment year just prior of the assessment year now in appeal. For the year under appeal, the Assessing Officer was of the view that the object of the assessee was on....

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....ination of the pursuit of education. We have gone through the mass of material contained in the paper book filed by the assessee. The objects are implemented by conducting coaching classes and by supplying study material. There are also continuous educational programmes. The syllabus to which our attention has been drawn on behalf of the assessee, contains subject which are connected to the banking business and are similar to the syllabi for any professional course. Various subjects and taught-rural economics, banking law and practice, principles of economics, Indian economic problems, and so on and so forth. The fees charged for tutorial classes are low, only ₹ 50 per subject and appeal to be heavily subsidised. The fees for correspondence course is ₹ 150 per subject and is subsidised. The examination fees are also low (Rs. 100 for six subjects) and also appear to be subsidised. It is no doubt true that there is no formal school or college in the sense in which we understand modern schools or colleges-fixed hours of study, lunch recess, principal, staff, playground, rules for discipline and the like-but that is no ground for holding that the activities pursued are not ....

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....ting education through schools and colleges over which it had administrative and supervisory control. The exemption under section 10(22) claimed by the Board was upheld by the Orissa High Court and this judgment has also been impliedly approved by the Supreme Court in the case of Aditinar Educational Institution v. CIT [1997] 139 CTR (SC) 7 : [1997] 224 ITR 310 (SC). In this judgment, the Supreme Court accepted the proposition that education could be imparted through the medium of colleges and schools and also through other media. It is, therefore, not necessary that an assessee in order to claim exemption of its income under section 10(22) should necessarily impart education through the medium of schools and colleges. In Gujarat State Cooperative Union v. CIT [1992] 103 CTR (Guj.) 206 : [1992] 195 ITR 279 (Guj.) the Gujarat High Court held that advancement of knowledge in the context of section 10(22) includes suitable methods of dissemination and though the primary method of sitting in a classroom may remain an ideal format of the initial education, it may become necessary to have a different outlook for further education. It was held further that it is not necessary to nail down....

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....bution of profits but it was absolutely necessary that the institution claiming exemption should not make profits. It is difficult to appreciate how an assessee can so mange it affairs that it just breaks even and no surplus or deficit is made. This would be an impossible task to achieve, nor is it necessary to do so, as the later decision of the Supreme Court in Addl. CIT v. Surat Art Silk Mfrs. Association [1979] 13 CTR (SC) 378 : [1980] 121 ITR 1 (SC) would show. Observations to the contrary contained in Lok Sikshana (supra) which were cited by the learned Departmental Representative before us were disapproved by the larger Bench in Surat (supra). Further, if that were to be so simple of achievement, there is perhaps no need for a provision granting exemption to the income; unless there are profits/surplus, the question of granting exemption just does not arise, as held by the Madras High Court in CIT v. Madras Stock Exchange case 1977 CTR (Mad.) 1 : [1976] 105 ITR 546 (Mad.) at p. 556. Thus the law does not place an embargo on profit-making or surplus resulting; what its prohibits is profiteering or the profit-motive. Clause (4) of the memorandum prohibits the distribution of t....

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....on the order of the Tribunal in the case of Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IT Appeal Nos. 5474/Bom/1994, 2966/Bom/1997 and 6742/Bom/1997, dated 24-12-1997), a copy of which was filed before us. But then that assessee was a body whose functions it was to merely advise the banks as to the selection procedure to be followed and the personnel to be selected out of the applicants for banking posts, a specialist job-more in the nature of the consultancy-made necessary in view of the heavy recruitment by the nationalised banks. They found it difficult to manage the job of selecting proper personnel for the vacancies and a specialised body was established to help them. In the course of the selection process, examinations were conducted and the results were made known to the banks. The income of the assessee was claimed to be exempt under section 10(22) but it was negatived by the Tribunal on the ground that it was a purely examination-conducting body which was not an educational activity. We respectfully agree with the view taken in this order, but the order is not applicable to the case before us in view of the entirely different nature of the activities carried on by the prese....