TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2003 (9) TMI 46
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....r alia, the said public trust has been constituted to provide assistance to necessitous persons or tax practitioners or their widows, children and dependents and carry on any other act for the advancement of general public utility without distinction of sex, colour, caste, creed or religion. The said public trust is also registered with the Income-tax Department under section 12A of the Income-tax Act. On September 9, 1988, (?) the petitioner-trust applied for exemption in the prescribed form under section 80G of the Income-tax Act before the Commissioner of Income-tax and placed before it the objects of the petitioner-trust, inter alia, providing for financial assistance for maintenance, education or any other similar purpose to necessi....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....he benefit of a specific group of people, i.e., tax practitioners and their relatives, and the objects stated at (B) are vague. In assailing the aforesaid order dated January 21, 2002, one of the contentions advanced before us by counsel for the petitioner is that another public charitable trust, viz., the Chartered Accountants' Benevolent Fund, having identical objects for the benefit of necessitous persons, chartered accountants, or their widows, children and dependents, exemption has been granted under section 80G of the Income-tax Act. The averments made in paragraph 7 of the writ petition read thus: "It may be noted that in respect of another trust, viz., 'the Chartered Accountants' Benevolent Fund', New Delhi, which has got e....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....respondent submits that the grant of exemption to the Chartered Accountants' Benevolent Fund does not entitle the petitioner to exemption as in the opinion of the respondent the objects of the petitioner do not fall within the prescribed parameters." The petitioner has placed on record the memorandum of association and rules and regulations of the Chartered Accountants' Benevolent Fund. The objects of the Chartered Accountants' Benevolent Fund as reflected therefrom read thus: "The objects for which the fund is established is to provide financial assistance for maintenance, education or any other similar purpose to necessitous persons, being: (a) persons who are or have been members of the Institute, whether subscribers to the fund....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....s persons. In the case of the Chartered Accountants' Benevolent Fund, the said provision for financial assistance for maintenance, education or any other similar purpose to necessitous persons is meant for persons who are or have been members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India while the objects of the Tax Practitioners' Benevolent Fund is to provide financial assistance for maintenance, education or any other similar purpose to necessitous persons who are or have been in practice of taxation. It is true that exemption under section 80G to the Chartered Accountants' Benevolent Fund has been granted by the Director of Income-tax (Exemption), New Delhi, while the petitioner's application for grant of exemption under section 80G....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....the Institute of the Chartered Accountants of India was not found to be an object meant for the benefit of the specific group of people, i.e., members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India by the Director of Income-tax (Exemption), New Delhi, while considering the application made by the Chartered Accountants' Benevolent Fund for exemption under section 80G, it is difficult for us to accept the reasoning of the present respondent for the self same objects of the petitioner-Tax Practitioners' Benevolent Fund, the objects are for the benefit of a specific group of people, i.e., tax practitioners' and their relatives. Thus we are satisfied that the order dated January 21,2002, passed by the office of the Commissioner of Income-....