The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has ruled in favour of Tata Education and Development Trust in a case wherein the tax department had raised a demand of more than ₹220 crore, an official statement said on Saturday.
The case pertains to assessment years 2011-12 and 2012-13 on money spent by the Trust for creating an endowment fund at Cornell University, U.S., to provide scholarships to Indian students and granting financial assistance to the Harvard Business School for constructing an executive building to be named Tata Hall. It donated ₹197.79 crore in 2011-12 and ₹25.37 crore in 2012-13.
The controversy erupted after the Public Account Committee (PAC) of the Lok Sabha in 2018 sought an inquiry in the matter as it believed that exemption granted by the direct tax body was in violation of the I-T Act. The ITAT said in its order on July 24 that all other grounds of appeals will be “rendered, academic and infructuous”.
