1989 PLP (Trib (PTD)

(i) To promote, encourage, support, facilitate, organize and control racing all over Pakistan; xxx xxx xxx (v) To recognize local clubs and to withdraw recognition from any such clubs; (vi) To sanction the running of races at all race meetings throughout Pakistan; (vii) To allocate dates and periods of racing fixtures to various local clubs; xxx xxx xxx The Memorandum of Association of the Respondent, Lahore Race Club (local club) as amended on 16-7-1982 lists its object at Article 3 of which clauses 'b' and 'c' read as under:- "(b) to encourage and promote by every means the breeding and training of horses and ponies; (c) to promote, organise and control Race Meetings at Lahore and elsewhere within the province of the Punjab: Again, Article 27 (b) reads as under:-- "27 (b).--The Stewards elected under Article 27 of the Articles of Association shall elect annually representatives of the Lahore Race Club on the Board of Stewards of Jockey Club of Pakistan. They are empowered to replace their nominee or nominees at the Jockey Club of Pakistan." It therefore, emerges that a race club (a term commonly used for a sport where horse-race on stakes takes place in Pakistan is an organization existing as a `local club' of the Jockey Club of Pakistan which was constituted by the Government of Pakistan' by promulgating the Sports (Development & Control) Ordinance. We, therefore, see no hazard to hold that the Lahore Race Club is an organization established in Pakistan for the purpose of controlling, regulating or encouraging horse racing in Pakistan and, therefore, fulfils the requirement at the first limb of clause 90 of the Second Schedule of the Ordinance for the entitlement of exemption. We now turn to the second issue as identified above for settlement of the controversy before us, namely, whether racing as a Sport includes horse racing as well. Section 2 (i) of the Sports (Development & Control) Ordinance, 1962. (i) "Sports" shall include Hockey, Football, Athletics, Wrestling, Cricket, Weight-lifting, Squash Rackets, Swimming, Boxing, Cycling, Basketball, Golf, Volley-ball, Rifle Shooting, Table Tennis, Badminton, Lawn Tennis, Polo, Racing, Body-building, Skiing, Mountaineering, and. any other activity which the Central Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, specify. Besides the authoritative definitions, cited before us by Mr. Ahmed Shuja Khan, the Respondent's learned counsel, we discover that the Legal Thesaurus by William C. Burton published by Macmillan Publishing Company incorporated in its 1980 Edition gives the definition of racing as under:- "Race (Verb) = accelerate, bolt, chase, compete, dart, dash, engage in a contest of speed, enter a competition, fly, gallop, hasten, hie, hurry, hustle, move at- an accelerated rate of speed, plunge ahead, pursue, run, run at a race, run swiftly, rush, scamper, scramble, scud, speed, print, spurt, tear, whiz." None the above acts, in the definition, relate only to human efforts hence these may include auto-race or a horse race as well. This view gets support from the. fact that among other shades of the words (as in the above definition) is the word "gallop" which is almost exclusively associated to a horse. With that in mind we are of the view that `Racing' included in the definition of Sports as per section 2(i) of the Sports. (Development and Control) Ordinance, 1962, has been used as a generic term, which neatly encapsulates "all sorts of racing either of human beings or of animals like horses, dogs, as well as machines like car, motor-cycle and cycle races". Full significance and justification for this inference become clear when seen alongside the clarification issued by the Pakistan Sports Board ill its letter dated 25-3-1986 (referred to earlier). To the same effect was an earlier clarification issued on 12-3-1986 by the Culture Sports & Youth Affairs Division of the Government of Pakistan. We now take up the third aspect namely, whether 'racing' is a Sports as envisaged by clause 90 of the Second Schedule, We have already discussed in the earlier part of this order that the Government promulgated The Sports (Development & Control) Ordinance with a view to regulate the development and control of sports in Pakistan and constituted the Jockey Club of Pakistan on 7-5-1962 in exercise of the powers under Section 3 thereof for the control of racing. Rules were then framed on 7-5-1962 (amended on 21-12-1963), It is note worthy that except Rule 2 (e) which defines: "Racing means horse-racing when the stakes are Rs. 25 or more", the legislation creating the Jockey Club and the rules, all along use expressions like "racing", "running of races", "race fixtures" etc. but the context, particularly due to the (very) name "Jockey Club of Pakistan" together with the Memorandum of the 'local club' should never detract from the fact that all these are in the context of horse racing. It thus clearly emerges that the word `sport' used by the legislature in clause 90 of the Second Schedule to the Income Tax Ordinance should be interpreted as having a wide scope to cover 'horse racing' which in turn is a connotation of wide amplitude and thus covers horse racing, a situation which the Government has after a conscious consideration acknowledged, as is manifest from various clarifications issued by the concerned Departments. The irresistible conclusion is that "horse-racing" is covered by the expression `racing' which falls under Sports for which the Government thought it necessary to sponsor an organization to control, regulate encourage and promote. As an upshot of our enquiry we are led to hold that `racing' or (more correctly) horse racing is a Sports as envisaged by C1:90 of the Second Schedule to the Income Tax Ordinance. On the basis of the foregoing discussion we feel no hesitation to hold that: "The respondent (Lahore Race Club) ` in its capacity as a 'local club' of the Jockey Club of Pakistan is an organization established in Pakistan for the purpose of controlling, regulating or encouraging racing or (more correctly) horse racing. :Horse racing as a specie of racing' qualifies to be termed as `Sport' as per definition in .Section 2 of the Sports (Development and Control) Ordinance read with clarification issued by the Pakistan Sports Board ob 26-3-1986 and by the Government of Pakistan (Culture, Sports & Youth Affairs) Division on 12-3-1986. The Sport of `horse racing is recognized by the Government inasmuch as the Government constituted the Jockey Club of Pakistan and caused the creation of `local clubs' such as the Respondent. To sum up, we declare that the Respondent is an "organization established in Pakistan for the purpose of controlling, regulating or encouraging" Horse Racing which is "a sports recognised by the Government." and, therefore, it is entitled to the exemption as per clause 90 of the Second Schedule to the Income Tax Ordinance. The order by the learned Commissioner is thus unexceptionable and needs no INTERFERENCE. The appeal by the Department Fails in consequence. M.Z.S./674/T Appeal dismissed.