TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (7) TMI 19
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....both these appeals, they are being decided together for the sake of convenience. 2.0 The brief facts of the case are that the assessee is a Development Authority set up by Uttar Pradesh Government with the object of development of Hardwar, Pauri, Tehri and part of Dehradun. All developmental schemes as well as beautification of these Districts are to be done by the assessee. The assessment for years under consideration was framed u/s 143(3) of the Act after disallowance of claim of exemption u/s 11 and making further addition of Rs. 2,15,12,580/- being net amount transferred to Infrastructure Development Fund as income of the assesseeauthority. The assessing officer disallowed the claim of exemption u/s 11 by disputing the charitable natur....
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....pported the assessment order and vehemently argued that the assessee-authority fails to satisfy the criteria for claiming exemption u/s 11 of the Act. It was submitted that activities of the assessee-authority are of commercial nature and fail to satisfy the definition as given in section 2(15) of the Act. 3.2 On the other hand, the Ld. AR appearing for the assessee-authority submitted that the issue in hand is covered by the decision of this Tribunal (ITAT) and thereafter by the order granting registration u/s 12AA passed by the Ld. CIT (Exemption). It was highlighted that the ITAT, vide order dated 25/07/2014, held that objects of assessee authority are charitable in terms of section 2(15) and directed the Ld. CIT (Exemption) to grant re....
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....organization and not hit by proviso to section 2(15) of the Act. The finding of the Ld. CIT (A) are reproduced hereunder: "I have duly considered the facts and circumstances of the case. The AO has disallowed the exemption of the assessee authority by relying upon the decision of the Hon'ble Jammu & Kashmir High Court in ITA No. 164/2012 dated 07.11.2013, which has since been confirmed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in special leave to appeal no. 4990/2014 dated 24.07.2014. The AO has also placed reliance on the judgment of ITAT Cochin in the case of Greater Cochin Development Authority vs JCIT (OSD) (Exemption) in ITA No. 792/93/ Cochin/2013 wherein the Hon'ble ITAT has held that the development authority could not be held as c....
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....09 to hold that the assessee was charitable organization that was not hit by the provision of section 2 subsection (15) of I.T. Act, 1961 because the assessee authority was not carrying out any activity with any profit motive but the pre dominant objective was the welfare of the people at large and in view of the fact that it was of the opinion that the decision of Allahabad High Court in the case of U.P. Awas Evam Vikas Parishad (supra) was applicable to the facts of the assessee's case, therefore it did not find any reason to refer to the decision of Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (supra) and Jalandhar Development Authority (supra). In view of the fact that the jurisdictional bench of ITAT after examining the assessee....
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....utedly, it is not a case where there is any change in the objects of the assessee-authority or any allegation that the assessee was engaged in any activity beyond its objects and as such there is no compelling reason for us to deviate from finding given by the Coordinate Bench. We also take note that the Ld. CIT (A), while deciding this issue in favour of assessee, has placed reliance on various decisions rendered by the Coordinate benches of this Tribunal and the various Hon'ble High Courts in other cases of statutory authorities formed with similar objects, which, in our view, supports the case of the assessee authority. 4.3 We also draw strength from ratio laid down in following decisions: i. ITO (E) v. Saharanpur Development Authorit....