TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2015 (1) TMI 1474
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.... is carrying on its activities at various places in Tamil Nadu. All the impugned orders in the appeals are dated 28.2.2014. 2. The appeals filed by the Revenue are barred by limitation. The Revenue has filed Affidavits in each case citing reasons for delay in filing of the appeals. After perusal of same, we are satisfied that the delay in filing of the appeals is not intentional and willful. The reason for delay in filing of the appeals is accepted. The delay of 144/131 days in filing of appeals is condoned and the appeals are admitted to be heard on merits. 3. In all the appeals, the Revenue has raised a common ground, assailed the findings of the Commissioner of Income-tax(Appeals) in allowing distribution of surplus amongst its mem....
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....he rural folk in different parts of India, with the aim of raising the living standard of poor villagers, especially scheduled casts, tribes and other backward communities. The assessee trusts are registered, in these cases in Tamil Nadu, to manage Self-Help- Groups (SHGs for short). These SHGs are group of villagers and their families numbering around ten to fifteen and they undertake a particular programme of generating income for the benefit of the members of that SHG. The assessee trust SMBT is leading and managing about ten to twenty SHGs in their activities. The assessees SMBT, around twenty to thirty in numbers, working in Tamil Nadu, are under the common umbrella of M/s.Sarvodaya Nano Banking Finance Company Limited (SNBFCL for shor....
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....ody called "Association of Sarva Seva Farms" (ASSEFA for short). ASSEFA is a national level trust formed for the upliftment of poor villagers who had received in the past, parcels of land distributed by Boodhan Movement initiated by Acharya Vinoba Bave. The Boodhan Movement had collected good extent of land in different parts of India. Those lands were allotted to landless poor villagers. But, the villagers were not in a position to raise resources to carry on agricultural and other related activities in the land allotted to them. It created a situation that inspite of land allotted to them, the poor people were not in a position to make a livelihood out of the land. ASSEFA was formed in the above context. They made out a programme for the ....
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....he assessments of these assesseetrusts, the Assessing Officer held that the assessee trusts are in the status of Association of Persons (AOP for short) and they are liable for taxation on the surplus income at the maximum marginal rate. The reason pointed out by the Assessing Officer is that the distribution of 95 per cent made by the assessee trusts to member SHGs is not determinate with reference to individual recipients. In other words, the distribution of 95 per cent of surplus is indeterminate. Therefore, he held that 95 per cent of surplus distributed by the assessee trusts to their member SHGs has to be treated as income of the respective trusts. It is to be seen that the assessee trusts have already offered for taxation 5 per cent o....
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....trusts are distributing the 95 per cent of surplus on the basis of proper accounts, formula and procedure. Every beneficiary is identified. The share of every beneficiary is quantified. Therefore, we find that the Commissioner of Incometax( Appeals) is justified in coming to the conclusion that the assessee trusts and the SHGs are inter-related and they are all concerns governed by the principles of mutuality. The 95 per cent surplus distributed by the assessee trusts to the various SHGs working under them is nothing but the income of those SHGs themselves. It is not something that those groups are getting from outside by way of income. It is the fruit of their efforts. After finalising the accounts and computing the surplus, the profits ar....