Judgment

S.H. KAPADIA, J.- Leave granted.

2. The short question which arises for consideration in this civil appeal is as to what is the scope of enquiry by the prescribed authority under Section 10(23-C)(vi) read with the third proviso thereto inserted by the Finance Act, 1998 w.e.f. 1-4-1999. In this case, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) being the prescribed authority, at the relevant time, rejected the application for approval dated 7-4-1999 vide its order dated 12-10-2004. The said order has been upheld by the impugned judgment dated 24-11-2006 delivered by the Delhi High Court in Writ Petition (C) No. 17978 of 2004, hence, this civil appeal.

3. Briefly, the facts are as follows:

The claim of the appellant is that it is a non-profit organisation set up in USA and has been granted tax exemption as an educational institute in that country. The appellant has a branch office in India mainly to comply with its obligations under various agreements with the Government of India (Ministry of Tourism). Its branch provides a central focal point in India for Indian missions to avail of its educational courses. Its branch collects data from educational institutions/persons wishing t