TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2004 (2) TMI 11
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....or imparting education. (b) To arrange and/or organise meetings, lectures, workshop classes, weekend courses, exhibitions, seminars, symposium and conferences with a view to raise and/or improve the standard of education. (c) To establish run, conduct and/or manage institutions for training of teachers, professors, lecturers, demonstrators, tutors and other persons connected and or interested in raising and or improving the standard of education. (d) To arrange for modern teaching aids, audio visual equipments, charts, slides, films, etc., for imparting education and to make them available to various educational institutions. (e) To promote, organise and co-ordinate research in education by providing college of education for B.Ed., M.Ed., Ph.D., etc., degrees, conduct intensive research projects and extensive surveys to provide effective extension programmes and consultative services to educational institutions. (f) To provide for and/or arrange for counseling centre comprising of educational and vocational guidance bureau, educational and psychological testing services and child guidance clinic. (g) To enter into any agreements or arrangements with any government, local auth....
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....e Tribunal held that the assessee was not entitled to the benefit of section 10(22) of the Act and restored the order of the Income-tax Officer. Hence, this reference at the instance of the assessee. We have heard Mr. S.N. Soparkar, learned counsel for the applicant assessee and Mr. Manish R. Bhatt, learned standing counsel for the Revenue. Mr. Soparkar has invited our attention to the findings given by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and submitted that the Tribunal has erred in taking a very narrow definition of the expression "education". He submitted that though in Sole Trustee, Loka Shikshana Trust v. CIT [1975] 101 ITR 234 the apex court gave illustrations to indicate that certain casual activities could not be termed as educational activities, the activities being carried on by the assessee are not such activities. Learned counsel referred to various letters and certificates issued by the institutions running schools, colleges and even Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad, the Vikram Sarabhai Community Science Centre at Ahmedabad, Saurashtra University, Nehru Science Centre, etc., and submitted that on perusal of those letters and certificates it is clear that the....
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....ncome of a university or other educational institution, existing solely for educational purposes and not for purposes of profit." This clause was omitted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1998 with effect from April 1, 1999 and the following relevant sub-clauses were added as parts of clause (23C) by the same Amendment Act: "(23C) any income received by any person on behalf of - . . . (iiiab) any university or other educational institution existing solely for educational purposes and not for purposes of profit, and which is wholly or substantially financed by the Government ; or (iiiad) any university or other educational institution existing solely for educational purposes and not for purposes of profit if the aggregate annual receipts of such university or educational institution do not exceed the amount of annual receipts as may be prescribed; or (vi) any university or other educational institution existing solely for educational purposes and not for purposes of profit, other than those mentioned in sub-clause (iiiab) or sub-clause (iiiad) and which may be approved by the prescribed authority, or" Section 11 commences with the heading, "Income from property held for charitable o....
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....the former having some degree of control over the latter. It is significant to note that while a trust holding property for the charitable purpose of education as defined by section 2(15) may also be an educational institution existing solely for the purpose of education, the two institutions cannot be treated as belonging to the same class. An institution may be carrying on educational activities as are being carried on by the assessee herein without imparting formal education and without being affiliated to or accountable to any authority. Such a trust can certainly be considered as qualifying for exemption under section 11(1)(a) read with section 2(15), but the term "the educational institution" contemplated by section 10(22) is a narrower concept. Though "educational institution" and educational activities are closely interconnected; in section 11(1)(a) read with section 2(15) it is the activities which are in focus whereas in section 10(22) both the institution and the activities are in focus. An educational institution under section 10(22) is, therefore, more than a body carrying on charitable activities in the field of education as contemplated by section 2(15). Keeping th....
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....assessee cannot, therefore, compare itself with any open university either. At this stage, we may refer to the decision of the apex court in Sole Trustee, Loka Shikshana Trust v. CIT [1975] 101 ITR 234 wherein the apex court enunciated the following principles while interpreting the expression "education" in section 2(15) of the Act: "The sense in which the word 'education' has been used in section 2(15) in the systematic instruction, schooling or training given to the young is preparation for the work of life. It also connotes the whole course of scholastic instruction which a person has received. The word 'education' has not been used in that wide and extended sense, according to which every acquisition of further knowledge constitutes education. According to this wide and extended sense, traveling is education, because as a result of traveling you acquire fresh knowledge. Likewise, if you read newspapers and magazines, see pictures, visit art galleries, museums and zoos, you thereby add to your knowledge. Again, when you grow up and have dealings with other people, some of whom are not straight, you learn by experience and thus add to your knowledge of the ways of the world. I....
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....nised as a trust holding property for educational purposes. However, as indicated above, what section 10(22) contemplates is an institution imparting formal education, which institution is accountable to some authority and has control over the taught. Mr. Soparkar has submitted that in Gujarat State Co-operative Union v. CIT [1992] 195 ITR 279, the institution was not any such school or college but was imparting education in co-operative field. The objects of the assessee in that case were to impart education to co-operative societies and to workers in the co-operative movement; to act as a co-ordinating agency on all matters pertaining to co-operative education and function as a body of experts in matters relating to education, etc.; to promote the study of problems connected with co-operation; to open circulating libraries, to publish periodicals, books, pamphlets, and literature in general on co-operation, rural development and allied subjects, to conduct training classes, training centres, etc., and to run a printing press. Hence, if such activities could be considered as educational activities for the purpose of section 10(22), the activities being carried on by the assessee ....
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.... the Government were for educational purposes. This court also referred to the above quoted observations of the hon'ble Supreme Court in Loka Shikshana Trust's case [1975] 101 ITR 234 (SC) and then further made the following observations (page 286 of 195 ITR): "The Supreme Court, in the above observations, by referring to the systematic instruction, schooling or training given to the young has only cited an instance in order to indicate as to what the word 'education' appearing in section 2(15) of the Act which defines 'charitable purposes' is intended to mean. We are certain that these observations were not intended to keep out of the meaning of the word 'education', persons other than 'young'. The expression 'schooling' also means 'that schools, instructs or educates' (The Oxford English Dictionary, Vol. IX, page 217). The Supreme Court has observed that the word 'education' also connotes the whole course of scholastic instruction which a person has received. This clearly indicates that the observations of the Supreme Court were not intended to give a narrow or pedantic sense to the word 'education'." While respectfully agreeing with the Division Bench that the word "education"....