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2017 (3) TMI 323
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....led and appeal of the assessee was re-fixed for hearing on merits. 5.The appeal is filed on following amended grounds of appeal : 1. That the Ld. CIT-II, Chandigarh has wrongly rejected the appellant's application for registration u/s 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 2. That the Ld. CIT-II, Chandigarh has wrongly failed to properly & correctly appreciate the nature of activities carried on by the appellant and other relevant facts and circumstances of the appellant's case. 3. That the Ld. CIT-II, Chandigarh has wrongly held that the appellant is engaged in imparting training to Government Officer who are paid by Government Departments and render services as part of official duties and therefore the said activities cannot be categorized as an object of general public utility. 4. That the Ld. CIT-II, Chandigarh has wrongly held that no charity is involved in the activities carried out by the appellant. 5. That the Ld. CIT-II, Chandigarh has wrongly held that the objects of the appellant are not charitable in nature. 6 . That the order passed by the Ld. CIT-II, Chandigarh is bad in law as well as on facts and therefore the same deserves to be quashed. 7....
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....ing objects.:- i) To impart, training in correctional administration and allied subjects to all officers of Central /State Government another, including those of prisons, Police and Judicial Department. ii) To promote and provide for the study of Correctional Administration with special reference to Criminal Justice and the machinery of Government and for educational and training purpose incidental thereto. iii) To undertake, organize and facilitate study courses, conferences and lecture and research in matter relating to correctional administration and the machinery of Government. iv) To undertake and provide for the publication of a journal and of research papers and books to impart training in and promote study of correctional administration, v) To established and maintain libraries and information services to facilitate the study of correctional administration and spreading information in regard thereto, vi) To cooperate with approved institutions and bodies for the purpose of helping to cause of correctional administration, vii) To act as nodal intuition of international cooperation in the field of correctional adm....
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....uality uniting the potential beneficiaries into a class, it may not be regarded as valid. Hon'ble Supreme Court of India as explain the word and phrases "objects of general public utility" in the following cases which are clearly similar to our case:- Commissioner of Income Tax Vs. Andhra Chamber of Commerce (1965) 55ITR722(SC) Commissioner of Income Tax Vs. Gujarat Maritime Board (2008) 214 CTR (5CJ81: (2007) 295 ITR 561(SC) Commissioner of Income Tax Vs. Andhra Chamber of Commerce (1981) 130ITR184(SC) Since the society is achieving political and social objects of Govt. of India and serving the general public, it is prima facie fulfilling the objects of general public utility- to a group of society to bring the unlawful people/prisoners to main steam of the society. The activities of the society are clear cut not to earn any profits.' 7. The ld.CIT, however, did not accept contention of the assessee and rejected the application for registration under section 12AA of the Act. The findings of CIT in impugned order in paras 5 to 6 are reproduced as under:- "5. The submissions of the applicant society have been considered but they are not....
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....istration to the applicant society u/s 12AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961." 8. The ld. counsel for the assessee reiterated the submissions made before authority below and referred to objects of the assessee society which are mainly to impart training in Correctional Administration and allied subjects to all the officers of Central/State Government and others including those of prisons, police and judicial departments. The society was formed as notified by the Central Government and its office bearers were mainly from Ministry of Home Affairs and IG (Prisons) etc. The details are also filed in PB. He has referred to the details supplied before ld.CIT on the objects and functioning of the assessee, copy of which is filed at pages 48 to 52 of the Paper Book and reads as under : INSTITUTE OF CORRECTIONAL ADMINISTRATION,CHANDIGARH With the increasing emphasis on treating Jails as Correctional Centres for rehabilitation of prisoners, the subject of training of the custodial officers and staff has assumed great significance. If society's attitude towards the prisoner has to change a beginning will have to be made with the prison personnel schooled in the old ideas of protection....
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....orientation courses in the U.T., State Guest House at Chandigarh from July, 1991. Later on, the Institute became functional in its present Campus w.e.f. February, 1999. The existing building of the Institute was purchased from the Chandigarh Administration at a cost of Rs. 73.59 lacs. The cost of the building was assessed by the Central PWD and it was paid in five annual installments. The four acre vacant land adjoining to the building complex was allotted by the Chandigarh Administration free of cost to the Institute. We have since paid the entire cost of the building to the Chandigarh Administration (Director, Technical Education, Chandigarh). The additions, alterations and renovation work of the building complex was entrusted to the Engineering Department of the Chandigarh Administration as a deposit work. Staff Strength of the Institute during the last two financial years. Group A: Home Secretary, Chandigarh Administration concurrently holds the charge of the post of Director Group B : (i) Lecturer in Psychology (Designated as Deputy Director) (ii) Administrative Officer, working on contract basis. Group C : (i) One Stenographer-c....
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....tion, Police-Community Relations and Media Management, Drug Law Enforcement, Attitudinal Change, Motivation and Leadership, Counselling Skills for Effective Policing, Human Rights and Custodial Deaths, etc.. The training courses being organized by the Institute not only generate a positive orientation in the participants about the correctional philosophy and they tend to equip the participants with skills and techniques of correction. Some of the salient features of our training courses are :- i) Importance of education, particularly vocational education for correction is emphasized. While education enhances the self-concept of a prisoner, vocational education paves the way to correction by making him self-reliant and socially acceptable. In this context, Prison Administration in the Rajasthan State is doing a commendable job in as-much as they have succeeded in starting Industrial Training institute in the Jail premises itself for imparting skills and training for the prison inmates. They have also started computer training courses apart from an advance bourse in tailoring in the jail premises. (ii) The concept and techniques of counselling are explained at lengt....
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....holistic intervention implies comprehensive understanding of the root cause of criminality and corresponding mode of treatment leading to provision of after care for rehabilitation. Most important of all, our courses emphasize the need for purity of consciousness leading to consistency between thought, words, and action. This is necessary in the first instance for the correctional agent and then for the prison inmates for achieving the goal of correction." 9. The ld. counsel for the assessee referring to above aims and objects and activities of the assessee submitted that the object of the creation of the assessee society is to improve the attitude and behaviour of the prison and jail authorities towards the offenders and thus, try to help them to assimilate back into the society which shows that same is object of general public utility as the offenders are enabled to lead a good public life when they came out of the prison. The ld. CIT did not appreciate the nature of activities carried on by the assessee and the relevant facts. The bare perusal of the objects for which the assessee society is created and activities under taken by the assessee society shows that same in all res....
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....medabad Rana Caste association (1983) 140 ITR 1 SC). The said expression would prima facie include all objects which promote the welfare of the general public. It cannot be said that a purpose would cease to be charitable even if public welfare is intended to be served. If the primary purpose and the predominant object are to promote the welfare of the general public the purpose would be charitable purpose. When an object is to promote or protect the interest of a particular trade or industry that object becomes an object of public utility, but not so, if it seeks to promote the interest of those who conduct the said trade or industry (Commissioner of Income-tax Madras v. Andhra Chamber of Commerce (1965) 55 ITR 722 SC). If the primary or predominant object of an institution is charitable, any other object which might not be charitable but which is ancillary or incidental to the dominant purpose, would not prevent the institution from being a valid charity- (Addl. Commissioner of Income-tax, Gujarat v. Surat Art Silk Cloth Manufacture Association (1980) 121 ITR 1 (SC)" He has also submitted that ld. CIT-II Chandigarh has granted registration under section 12AA to M/s Technical T....
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....t is admitted fact that assessee society has organized workshop/various courses in its Institute for imparting training to the officials large in number, in many years. Any other object of general public utility are very wide words. Their exact scope has not been and perhaps cannot be defined. The facts and circumstances of the case shall have to be considered in detail. Whether an object is of general public utility must be determined having regard to the particular circumstances that emerge under conditions of Indian life, and the standard of customary law and common opinion amongst the community. An object would be of general public utility if it defines a section of public or the inhabitants of a particular locality, provided the class of beneficiaries is well defined. In CIT V Surat Art Silk Cloth Manufacturing Association 122 ITR 1, Larger Bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court re-affirmed the ratio of Andhra Chamber of Commerce and held that a similar company formed to promote trade and commerce in cloth and yarn to be entitled for exemption as serving an object of general public utility. 13. To better understand the nature of functions and the objectives of the Institute....
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....convicts already having criminal mind, may not improve their attitude and behaviour in such circumstances even when they are serving the sentence in criminal case. It is a known fact that in criminal cases, various types of punishments have been provided i.e. for petty offence to heinous offence. In criminal cases, the intention of the offender and mens-rea are considered while dealing with the criminal cases and many times, offenders are found habitual in committing crimes and many times it is seen that the criminals commit the crime by their nature. How they are treated in Correctional Home/prison, are most important, relevant and necessary fact to improve them because if they are corrected and improved in their attitude and behaviour, ultimately it would improve the standard of society because after completion of their sentence, they would again be re-habilitated in civil society. Otherwise, if their attitude and behaviour remained with criminality, their presence in the society would be dangerous to the public at large. 14(i) In the above backdrop, the objective of the assessee institute of imparting correctional administration training only serves to strengthen the criminal....
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....in filing the registration application under section 12A but such provisions would not be applicable from 01.06.2007 because assessee society filed application on 01.04.2013. 17. Considering the totality of the facts and circumstances and above discussion, we are of the view that objects of the assessee society are charitable in nature and for "advancement of any other objects of general public utility" as defined under section 2(15) of the Act. The genuineness of the activities of the assessee has not been doubted by the ld. CIT. Therefore, assessee is entitled for registration under section 12AA of the Act. 18. In this view of the matter, we set aside the impugned order and direct the ld. CIT to grant registration to the assessee under section 12A/12AA from the day when application for registration was filed or any other earlier date as per law. The ld. CIT shall grant registration certificate within one month from the date of the order. 19. In the result, appeal of the assessee is allowed. ITA 1105/2014 ( A.Y. 2010-11) 20. This appeal by assessee has been directed against the order of ld. CIT(Appeals), Chandigarh dated 17.09.2014 for assessment year 2010-11 on the....