Per Shri D.N. Sharma, Judicial Member - In these departmental appeals though the assessees are different but the issues involved are Identical and hence for the sake of convenience, they were taken up and heard together and are being disposed of by this common order.

2. These appeals earlier came up for hearing before the Appellate Tribunal, ‘B’ Bench, Calcutta which found that on the question as to whether a private discretionary trust whose beneficiaries or their shares are indeterminate or unknown, should be assessed in the status of an association of persons or an Individual, there was a Conflict of decisions between different Benches of the Tribunal. It was noted by the Bench that in the cases of Educational Trust Fund v. ITO [1985] 12 ITD 563 (Hyd,), First ITO v. Daxa A. Patel (P.) Rel. Trust [1986] 17 ITD 263 (Bom.) and First ITO v. Radhasaran (P.) Religious Trust [1986] 17 ITD 372 (Bom.) it was held that a private discretionary trust should be assessed in the status of an individual for the purposes of giving relief u/s 80L of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’). On the other hand, the decision of the Tribunal in Fifth ITO v. D.M.C.C. Empl