Premises, community halls, kalyanmandapam, open area
Charges ≥ ₹10,000 per day
Shops or other spaces for business/commerce
Charges ≥ ₹10,000 per month
## Key Definitions
Religious place — A place primarily meant for conduct of prayers/worship, meditation or spirituality.
General public — Body of people at large defined by common public or impersonal nature.
Precincts of religious place — All immovable property:
Within the outer boundary wall of the complex, OR
In immediate vicinity and surrounding of the religious place AND owned by / under same management as the religious place.
## Important Rule
Activities other than conduct of religious ceremony and renting of precincts → Taxable, irrespective of the manner or name in which consideration is received.
Worked example
### Example 1
Example: A temple trust (registered u/s 12AB) rents out a community hall in its precincts at ₹8,000 per day for a wedding. → Exempt (charges are below the ₹10,000/day threshold for community halls).
### Example 2
Example: The same temple trust rents rooms in its precincts at ₹1,200 per day. → Taxable (charges ≥ ₹1,000/day → carve-out applies).
### Example 3
Example: A priest authorized under religious texts conducts a marriage ceremony and charges ₹50,000. → Exempt (conduct of religious ceremony).
⚠️ Common exam mistakes
Assuming all activities at a religious place are exempt — only conduct of religious ceremony and qualifying renting of precincts are covered.
Forgetting the threshold limits: ₹1,000/day for rooms, ₹10,000/day for halls/premises, ₹10,000/month for shops.
Missing the 'general public' requirement and the requirement that the entity be registered under 12AA/12AB or 10(23C)(v) or covered under 10(23BBA).
Confusing 'precincts' with merely 'nearby property' — it must be inside the boundary wall OR adjoining AND under same ownership/management.
Bare-Act text Entry 13 · Notification No. 12/2017-CT(R) dated 28.06.2017 · click to expand
Services by a person by way of-
(a) conduct of any religious ceremony;
(b) renting of precincts of a religious place meant for general public, owned or managed by an entity registered as charitable/religious trust u/s 12AA/12AB or trust or institution registered u/s 10(23C)(v) or a body or an authority covered under section 10(23BBA) of said Income-tax Act.
Provided that nothing contained in entry (b) shall apply to-
(i) renting of rooms where charges are Rs.1,000 or more per day;
(ii) renting of premises, community halls, kalyanmandapam or open area, and the like where charges are Rs.10,000 or more per day;
(iii) renting of shops or other spaces for business or commerce where charges are Rs.10,000 or more per month.