UMAID CHARITABLE TRUST Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition has been filed by the petitioner Umaid Charitable Trust, Pali being aggrieved by the order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax-I, Jodhpur dated 16. 12. 2004 refusing to renew the registration of exemption of the petitioner - Trust by the impugned order passed under Section 80g (5 (vi) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. According to the said order, exemption certificate granted to the petitioner Trust under Section 80g of the Act by order dated 20. 3. 2002 was effective for a period from 1. 4. 2001 to 31. 3. 2004 and the petitioner - Trust by application for renewal of said exemption on the prescribed from No. 10g on 23. 8. 2004. However, the learned Commissioner found that in income and expenditure statement of the trust for the period ended on 31. 3. 2004, the trust had spent a sum of Rs. 20,000/- for repairing and colouring of Lord Vishnu's temple out of its total income for the said previous year of Rs. 26,727/- and therefore since the petitioner - Trust had incurred expenditure exceeding 5% of its total income of that year on a particular religion, according to the learned Commissioner, the said Trust was not entitled to renewal of exemption under section 80g of the Act as per provisions of Section 80g (5) (B) of the Act and therefore, following the decision of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Upper Ganges Sugar Mills reported in (1997) 227 ITR 578 (SC), the learned Commissioner rejected the said application for renewal.

(2.) THE petitioner approached this Court by way of present writ petition being aggrieved of the said order.

(3.) NOW a scrutiny of relevant case laws on the controversy involved in the present case is considered expedient at this stage. From the side of the assessee - petitioner, following case laws are relied upon which are noticed with relevant extract from the same as below: