TMI Blog1992 (8) TMI 306X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sought exemption from payment of property tax from the then Coimbatore Municipality and the appellant, by proceedings dated 20.9 1977, was exempted from payment of property tax under Section 83(1)(e) of the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act, 1920 with effect from 1 .4.1977, excluding the office canteen doctors' residential quarters and nurses' quarters, in respect of which a separate assessment for property tax was made. This according to the appellant, had continued till 30.9,1980, when a special notice dated 31.3.1981 was issued to the appellant proposing to revise the earlier assessment with effect from the half year commencing from 1.10.1980 by revising the annual value and on representations by the appellant, the appellant was granted exemption from payment of property tax under Section 123(e) of the Act for the period from 1.10.1980 to 31.3.1982, by an order passed on 8.8.1981. The appellant also referred to the grant of exemption under Section 80(g) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, as well as exemption from payment of urban land tax and the certificate of the Collector of Coimbatore to the effect that the hospital run by the appellant was doing charitable and relief ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e the commissioner on 7.4.1981 and after the Coimbatore Municipality became a Municipal Corporation from 1.5.1981, the Commissioner inspected the property on 6.8.1981 and after perusing the relevant records produced by the appellant, exemption from payment of property tax had been granted for the period from 1.10.1980 to 31.3.1982 and that no exemption was granted for the subsequent period. Relying on the proviso to Section 123 of the Act, the respondent maintained that the appellant was not entitled to the exemption, as it had collected rents from persons who used to occupy the hospital rooms and charges had also been collected from out-patients and, therefore, the appellant cannot be permitted to take advantage of Section 123(e) of the Act. An objection that the appellant had an effective alternative remedy was also put forward. 3. The learned Judge, who heard the writ petition, took the view that the use of the word 'rent' in the proviso should be regarded as having been used in a comprehensive or in a very wide and general sense to include collection of any charges from the person or persons using the property, by those who run the hospital, and, therefore, the benef ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... such exemption till 31.3.1982. In order to ascertain the character of the payments made by the persons using the hospital, it becomes necessary to scrutinise the bills issued, which have been placed by the appellant before us. It is seen from the bills produced that they are all itemised bills. In the bill dated 21.9.1984 relating to Master K.P. Manoj, the total charges have been arrived at ₹ 670.75 and that is made up of clinical lab testing charges ₹ 20 medicines ₹ 101.20, injections and dressings ₹ 89.70, operation charges ₹ 375 and other charges ₹ 64.85. Similarly, it is seen from the bills dated 5.5.1983,19.2.1985 and 24.2.1985 relating to Mr. Veluswamy, Mr. Natarajan and Ms. Lakshmi that the total amount of the bill is comprised of several different items of charges, like bed charges, medicines, x-ray charges, clinical lab testing charges, operation charges and other charges. The other charges referred to are for the junior and senior doctors visiting the patients twice a day as could be gathered from the details for other charges provided by the appellant. From the other bills relating to Mr. Shanmugasundaram and Miss. Vasanthi also it is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n of the Legislature was that the question should be decided on consideration of facts of each case, when a controversy over it arose. Necessarily, therefore, from the provisions of the Act, the meaning of the word 'rent' has to be gathered. Section 117 of the Act, occurring in Chapter V of the Act, relating to Taxation, refers to the levy of property tax by the council. Section 118 of the Act provides for a resolution of the Council determining to levy the tax as well as the rate and the date from which such tax shall be levied. With particular reference to property tax, under Section 121(1) of the Act, the council by resolution is enabled to determine the levy of property tax on all buildings, except those exempted by or under the Act or any other law. Section 121 (2) of the Act, after referring to the levy of Property Tax at a percentage of the annual value of buildings, as may be fixed by the council, further provides that the aggregate of the percentage shall not be less than fifteen and a half percent or greater than thirty-five percent of its annual value. The Commissioner is empowered to determine the annual value of any building for purposes of assessing the proper ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , therefore the benefit of exemption has been given with the qualification that it is not used as residential quarters or public office. This would mean that though no ancient monument can normally be let out either as residential quarters or for public office, such letting cannot be totally ruled out and if they are so let out for use as residential quarters or public office, then the benefit of exemption may not be available. A burial ground as found in Clause (g) cannot be normally let out for rent either monthly or even yearly. Likewise, Clause (i) relating to bed of a river or canal, cannot be ordinarily thought of as property, which can be let out for rent. The buildings belonging to the Central Government are normally used for its own purposes and are not let out. In cases where the property is such that it cannot be let out at all as for instance, ancient monument, when not used as residential quarters or public office, burial and burning grounds; bed of a river or a canal, the Central Government Buildings, falling under clauses (d), (f), (g), (i) and 0), exemption appears to be total. However, with reference to the buildings felling under clauses (a), (c) and (e) there is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e word rent only in two sections. First in Section 5 where in providing how the annual value of land or building shall be ascertained the legislature said that it shall be ascertained by estimating the gross annual rent at which such land or building might reasonably be expected to let from year to year. It is absolutely clear that here the word rent is used in its strict and narrower sense of payment by tenant to landlord for demised property...In the absence of anything to indicate the contrary, it would be reasonable to think that the rule-making authority would not depart from the meaning in which it had reason to believe that the legislature had used the word, and that it used the word in Clause (ii) of Rule 18(4) in the same narrower sense of payment by tenant to landlord for demised property. Our conclusion therefore is that the word rent in Clause (ii) of Rule 18(4) means payment to a landlord by a tenant for the demised property and does not include payments made by licensees . 7. Though the attention of the learned Judge, had been drawn to this decision of the Supreme Court in State of Punjab v. British India Corporation Ltd. [1964] 2 SCR 114, we find that apa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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