Wealth-tax
Amendment of section 2
51. In section 2 of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 (27 of 1957) (hereinafter referred to as the Wealth-tax Act) in clause (ea), in Explanation 1, for clause (b), the following clause shall be substituted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2014, namely:–
‘(b) “urban land” means land situate––
(i) in any area which is comprised within the jurisdiction of a municipality (whether known as a municipality, municipal corporation, notified area committee, town area committee, town committee, or by any other name) or a cantonment board and which has a population of not less than ten thousand; or
(ii) in any area within the distance, measured aerially,––
(I) not being more than two kilometres, from the local limits of any municipality or cantonment board referred to in sub-clause (i) and which has a population of more than ten thousand but not exceeding one lakh; or
(II) not being more than six kilometres, from the local limits of any municipality or cantonment board referred to in sub-clause (i) and which has a population of more than one lakh but not exceeding ten lakh; or
(III) not being more than eight kilometres, from the local limits of any municipality or cantonment board referred to in sub-clause (i) and which has a population of more than ten lakh,
but does not include land on which construction of a building is not permissible under any law for the time being in force in the area in which such land is situated or the land occupied by any building which has been constructed with the approval of the appropriate authority or any unused land held by the assessee for industrial purposes for a period of two years from the date of its acquisition by him or any land held by the assessee as stock-in-trade for a period of ten years from the date of its acquisition by him.
Explanation.––For the purposes of clause (b) of Explanation 1, “population” means the population according to the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published before the date of valuation.’.
Notes on Clauses:
Clause 51 seeks to amend section 2 of the Wealth-tax Act relating to definitions.
The provisions contained in clause (ea) of section 2 define the term ‘assets’. Sub-clause (v) of the said clause (ea) includes ‘urban land’ in the definition of the term ‘assets’. Clause (b) of Explanation 1 to the said clause (ea) defines the term ‘urban land’.
It is proposed to amend clause (b) of Explanation 1 to clause (ea) of section 2 so as to provide that land situated in any area within the distance, measured aerially, (I) not being more than two kilometres, from the local limits of any municipality or cantonment board referred to in clause (i) and which has a population of more than ten thousand but not exceeding one lakh; or (II) not being more than six kilometres, from the local limits of any municipality or cantonment board referred to in clause (i) and which has a population of more than one lakh but not exceeding ten lakh; or (III) not being more than eight kilometres, from the local limits of any municipality or cantonment board referred to in clause (i) and which has a population of more than ten lakh shall be classified as urban land. An Explanation has been inserted to clarify the expression “population”.
This amendment will take effect from 1st April, 2014, and will, accordingly, apply in relation to Assessment Year 2014-15 and subsequent assessment years.
