The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has exempted yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth from paying tax. The tribunal referred to a 2006 amendment in the I-T Act, according to which yoga was additionally described as having “charitable purpose”.
The Delhi bench of the tribunal said that since Patanjali Yogpeeth camps conduct “medical relief” and “impart education”, they can be exempted from tax under sections 11 and 12 of the Income Tax Act. “The finding of I-T authorities that propagation of yoga by Patanjali Yogpeeth does not qualify as medical relief or imparting of education is not justified.”
The tribunal also ruled that corpus donations of about Rs 43.98 crore to Patanjali Yogpeeth, much of which has been used for building homes for those attending yoga courses, was not liable to be taxed.
The ruling came soon after Himachal Pradesh restored a chunk of land granted to Ramdev by the state’s previous Bharatiya Janata Party government in 2010. The current Congress government had cancelled the lease in 2013, citing violations of land allotment provisions, but made a U-turn on its decision on February 18.
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