DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF INCOME-TAX, (EXEMPTION) CIRCLE, PUNE vs. SADGURU NARENDRA MAHARAJ SANSTHAN, RATNAGIRI

It emerges at the outset that the Revenue‟s identical sole substantive grievance raised in both these appeals reads as under: 1. Whether on the facts and circumstances of the case the CIT(A) was correct in law in holding that the assessee is entitled for exemption u/s 11 ignoring the facts that the assessee trust had extended a number of benefits to the trustee as pointed out by the assessing officer in the assessment order?

We next find that there is hardly any need for us to go for a detailed adjudication in both the instant appeals. Suffice to say, the Assessing Officer appears to have framed these twin assessments on 27.03.2015 and 23.03.2016 inter-alia, making disallowance / addition u/s 11(1)(d) of Rs.39,99,136/- in former assessment year followed by with similar action in the latter assessment year involving varying sum, respectively. He further treated this assessee to be not eligible for section 11 exemption for the reason that the CIT-II, Kolhapur had cancelled its section 12AA registration vide order dated 21.03.2012.

The assessee appears to have filed its two separate appeals before the learned CIT(A) who has treated it as eligible for section 11 exemption in principle on the one hand, but affirmed the Assessing Officer‟s action (supra) on merits. This leaves the Revenue aggrieved to the extent indicated in its foregoing sole substantive grievance.

We have given our thoughtful consideration to the rival pleadings. It is made clear that the Revenue has admittedly has not raised any grievance on merits since its sole plea is that the assessee has been wrongly held to be eligible for section 11 exemption. We wish to reiterate here at the cost of repetition that the CIT-II, Kolhapur‟s order cancelling the assessee‟s registration stood reversed in its appeal vide order dated 16.09.2014. The Revenue‟s tax appeal ITA No.1094/PUN/2014 filed before hon‟ble jurisdictional high court also stands rejected on 28.02.2018 (pages 1 to 6 in the paper book). This is indeed coupled with the fact that the assessee has not filed any appeal against the CIT(A)‟s findings on merits which have attained finality (supra). Faced with this situation, we find no merit in the Revenue‟s instant identical sole substantive grievance as the assessee is eligible for the impugned section 11 exemption in principle being a duly registered trust u/s 12AA. We, thus, affirm the CIT(A)‟s findings and direct the learned Assessing Officer to frame his consequential computation as per law, if not already finalized yet, after treating the assessee as a duly registered trust u/s 12AA. Ordered accordingly.

These Revenue‟s twin appeals are dismissed in above terms. A copy of this common order be placed in the respective case files.