The Delhi high court has stayed the income-tax department’s order revoking the tax exemption status of Oxfam India and Care India Solutions for Sustainable Development, but directed the NGOs to only obtain domestic contributions and maintain proper accounts of the funds received by them, including details of contributors.
The high court, in its order passed on January 18 and made public on Monday, also asked the non-profits to use the funds in a manner aligned with their objectives and furnish details of the same. The court passed the order while dealing with petitions filed by the two NGOs challenging the I-T department’s order revoking their tax exemption status in September last year.
A bench of justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav granted relief to the NGOs after noting that a coordinate bench of the court had on August 25 last year stayed the I-T department’s order revoking think tank Center for Policy Research’s tax exemption licence. The I-T department had challenged the August 25 order before the Supreme Court, but the latter refused to stay the high court ruling.
“We also bear in mind the need to adopt a uniform and consistent approach insofar as interim orders are concerned. This since an identical challenge has been duly entertained by a coordinate Bench of this Court and interim protection accorded,” the bench said.
Oxfam’s tax exemption status was revoked by the I-T department on September 30, months after its office was searched by the department. On Thursday, Oxfam, appearing through senior advocate Arvind Datar, submitted that the apex court on January 5 had upheld high court’s August 25 order passed with regard to CPR.
Read more at: Hindustan Times
Share this content: