The assessee, a charitable trust running a hospital, also operated a pharmacy store within its premises to provide medicines to its in-house patients. The Assessing Officer treated the surplus generated by the pharmacy as business income taxable under section 11(4A) of the Act. The High Court, dismissing the revenue’s appeal, held that the pharmacy was ancillary to the main object of running the hospital. It reasoned that a pharmacy is an integral part of providing medical relief, and therefore, the income accrued therefrom was incidental to the dominant charitable object of the assessee. The Court noted that the grant of approval under section 10(23C)(via) also supported the trust’s philanthropic nature. Consequently, the Assessing Officer was not justified in treating the pharmacy as a separate business entity and taxing its surplus. (AY. 2017-18)