TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (2) TMI 574
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....re that, the assessment orders have been passed for Assessment Year 2012-13 and 2014-15 on 31/12/2014 and 29/11/2016 by computing the income at Rs. 91,42,842/- and Rs. 1,49,63,082/- respectively as against the 'NIL' income declared by the Assessee. Aggrieved by the respective assessment orders, the Assessee preferred the Appeals before the Ld. CIT (A). The Ld. CIT(A) vide order dated 22/11/2018 held that one time life membership fee received by the Assessee are not voluntarily contributions and the same is revenue receipt and upheld the disallowance made by the A.O. Aggrieved by the order of the Ld. CIT(A), the Assessee preferred the present Appeals. 3. None appeared for the Assessee, the registry sent several notices which are gone in v....
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....consideration is whether the one time life membership fees received by the appellant can be treated as corpus donation or is revenue in nature and is to be added to the income. 4.3 With regard to membership fees or subscription, the issue is not whether such receipts would be revenue or capital in nature to decide whether these can be considered as part of the corpus donations which are exempt under section 11(1)(d). What is exempt under section 11(1)(d) is income in the form of voluntary contributions made with a specific direction that they shall form a part of the corpus. Hence what is to be decided is whether receipts on account of membership fees are voluntary or not and not whether such receipts are revenue or capital in natu....
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....ers to the Signet v. IRC [1886] 2 TC 257 (C Sess), the Court held that the entrance fees and subscriptions paid by entrants to a society or institution as a condition precedent to their membership and as the price of admission to the privileges and benefits of the society or institution are given under a contract and are not voluntary. In view of the Bombay High Court, membership and subscription amounts received by the assessee-trust/society from its members cannot be characterized as voluntary contribution within the meaning of the expression "fund" in section 12 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. 16. Thus there is a distinction between voluntary contribution and subscription. When a sum is paid in the nature of gift or a gratuitous pa....
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....Textiles Export Promotion Council (supra), we are of the view that the property held under trust was the organization itself and the source of money, that is to say, the subscriptions from its members arose directly and substantially from that of organization. In the absence of organization, there would have been no question of subscriptions and following the Division Bench judgment of the Bombay High Court in the case of Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (supra), we are of the opinion that the subscription is to be considered as income derived from property held under trust. 26. Hence it is clear that the subscription is to be treated as income and exempted under section 11 of the Act." 4.6 In view of the discussio....