Tribunal grants income tax exemption to Punjab society for plastic waste

In the appeal, Advocate Tejinder Mohan Singh, representing the society, contended that the Commissioner should have considered whether the society’s objectives were charitable and, if genuine, should have granted registration under Section 12AA of the Act.

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ruled that preserving the environment is considered a charitable purpose under Section 2(15) of the IT Act. It found that all the objectives of the assessee society directly align with the purpose of environmental preservation, which qualifies as a charitable action.

The Tribunal disagreed with the CIT (Exemptions)’s view that the society’s activities didn’t benefit the public, citing that plastic waste management, as per the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, aims to benefit everyone by addressing pollution caused by plastic.

Consequently, the Tribunal deemed the society’s objectives charitable and its activities genuine under Section 12AA of the I-T Act. It overturned the previous order by the CIT (Exemptions), allowing the registration application from Punjab Plastic Waste Management Society.