TTD trust board to seek tax exemption on Srivani trust donations

Tirupati: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams trust board has decided to seek tax exemptions on Srivani trust donations before effecting the trust's merger into the TTD fold.Sri Venkateswara Alayala Nirmanam (Srivani) trust was floated in 2019. As TTD offers one VIP break darshan ticket to every donor devotee who extends a donation of Rs 10,000 to the trust and facilitates a darshan which is almost on par with VIP darshan extended to protocol category VIPs, the scheme became a big hit. It received Rs 1,086 crore in the last five years as over 10 lakh donor devotees extended donations to the trust.According to TTD sources, Srivani trust receives Rs 35-40 crore in donations per month, and approximately Rs 400 crore in a year. However, the trust's activities came under the radar after there were allegations of irregularities during the YSRCP regime. The new trust board, under chairman BR Naidu, passed a resolution on Nov 18 last year to study the taxation and other issues that could arise after the proposed merger of Srivani trust into TTD.TTD constituted a team comprising of chartered accountants, consultants and tax experts to study the legal, financial and operational complexities involved in the proposed merger. The committee outlined the potential scenarios that could arise after the merger. If the trust is merged into TTD, the temple body could end up paying a tax of 39%, which would lead to erosion of Srivani trust funds. Secondly, alignment of trust and organisational objectives will require amendments to the exiting deeds and regulatory rules in the AP Endowments Act as well.The alternative suggested by the committee was to continue Srivani trust with its activities to fulfil the desired objectives till its funds are exhausted, after which new donations can be accepted into the main TTD account. However, this also requires amendment to the AP Endowments Act to enable TTD to take up the objectives of Srivani trust — taking up construction of new temples, and renovation of old and dilapidated temples.