COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX/WEALTH TAX, COMPANIES ZONE-II, LAHORE VS TOURISM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LTD. PUNJAB (TDCP), LAHORE, 2006 PTD-LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE 2638 (2006)

(a) Income Tax Ordinance (XXXI of 1979)---

----S. 22---Grant given to Tourism Development Corporation by Government for promotion of its activities---Not to be considered and taxed as income.

(b) Income Tax Ordinance (XXXI of 1979)---

----S. 80-D---Sale proceeds of assessee's (Tourism Development Corporation) assets could not be treated as part of turnover and taxed under S.80-D of Income Tax Ordinance, 1979.

Khadim Hussain Zahid for Appellant.

ORDER

The present ITA No.410 of 1999, as also ITA Nos. 411 and 412 of 1999, are being disposed of together, as all these involve the common questions of law and facts.

2. The respondent is a Government Controlled Organization, set up for the promotion of Tourism Industry in Pakistan. The Assessing Officer made the assessment of three consecutive years and treated the government grant, given by the Punjab Government to the respondent on different occasions, as an income and also treated the sale proceeds of the assets bold by the respondent as part of the turnover and taxed the same on that basis under section 80-D of the Income Tax Ordinance, B1979. The matter when came before the CIT(Appeals), it was held that the Government funds cannot be treated as the income; the order of the CIT (Appeals) has been upheld by the Tribunal as well.

3. Learned counsel for the appellant has not been able to convince, if by any stretch of legal interpretation and imagination, the amount of grant given by the Government to the respondent for the purpose of promotion of its activities, can be considered to be an income within the meanings of the tax law, which could be taxed. As far as the question of section 80-D is concerned, that too has been rightly decided by the Tribunal, because any assets belonging to the respondent if sold, cannot be considered towards and imputed as the turnover, thus, taxable under section 80-D.

4. In the light of above, all these appeals have no merits and are hereby dismissed.

S.A.K./C-45/LAppeals dismissed.