TMI Blog2016 (9) TMI 985X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... roportionate liability to the value of the 3 assets that was initially applied by the Assessing Officer, but however, it was taken up for re-examination under Section 17 of the Act. Unfortunately, the re-examination has not been confined to that specific area at all and it went into the merits of the matter. In normal circumstances, we would have remanded the matter back for consideration afresh by the Assessing Authority. But, however, due to lapse of more than 15 years period and also in view of the fact that the Wealth Tax Act itself has already been done away with, we find that no useful purpose would be served in remanding the matter and hence, we restore the original order passed by the Assessing Authority under Section 16(1) of the Act, and the appeals stand accordingly allowed to the extent indicated supra. - Tax Case Appeal Nos. 961 to 963 of 2007 - - - Dated:- 8-9-2016 - Nooty Ramamohana Rao And P. Devadass, JJ. For the Appellant : Mr. N. Quadir Hoseyn For the Respondent : Mr. J. Narayanaswamy JUDGMENT ( Judgment of this Court was delivered by Nooty Ramamohana Rao, J ) These Tax Case Appeals are preferred by the Assessee under Section 27A of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... would only be appropriate to notice the definition of the expression 'assets' assigned by the Wealth Tax Act, 1957. The following is the meaning assigned to the said expression: [(ea) assets , in relation to the assessment year commencing on the 1st day of April, 1993, or any subsequent assessment year, means- [(i) any building or land appurtenant thereto (hereinafter referred to as house ), whether used for residential or commercial purposes or for the purpose of maintaining a guest house or otherwise including a farm house situated within twenty-five kilometres from local limits of any municipality (whether known as Municipality, Municipal Corporation or by any other name) or a Cantonment Board . 5. Any building or land appurtenant thereto, whether used for residential or commercial purposes or for the purpose of maintaining a guest house or otherwise answers the description of an asset. But, however, the following 5 items are declared as not included therein: (1) a house meant exclusively for residential purposes and which is allotted by a company to an employee or an officer or a director who is in whole-time employment, having a gross annual salar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ceding census of which the relevant figures have been published before the valuation date; or (ii) in any area within such distance, not being more than eight kilometers from the local limits of any municipality or cantonment board referred to in sub-clause (i), as the Central Government may, having regard to the extent of, and scope for, urbanisation of that area and other relevant considerations, specify in this behalf by notification in the Official Gazette . 8. A quick look at this expression also makes it clear that an exception has been carved out by not including certain urban land varieties of vacant land. For our purposes, it is important to notice that any unused land, held by the Assessee for industrial purposes for a period of 2 years from the date of its acquisition, has been kept outside the purview of the meaning as ascribed to the expression 'Urban Land'. Since the Assessing Officer has taken note of the value of the assets from the depreciation statement filed for purposes of reckoning income tax by the Assessee wherein the building sites purchased during the year ended on 31st March 1999 have been reflected, it would be safe to infer that the Asse ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y of the 3 Authorities, who dealt with the case of the Assessee, in this regard. 11. Shri J.Narayanaswamy, learned Standing Counsel for the Department, strenuously urged that all the 3 Authorities, namely, the Assessing Officer, the Appellate Commissioner and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, have concurrently held that residential quarters allotted to the Chairman of the Assessee and the vacant land, were treated as assets and hence no interference, from such a finding of fact concurrently recorded, is warranted. 12. In normal circumstances, we do not have made an attempt to upset the concurrent finding of fact recorded by all 3 Agencies, but, however, when the very legal provision providing the basis for doing so has not been understood properly, we feel that it is incumbent for us to decipher the meaning ascribed to those expressions and hence we attempted to find answers in the preceding paragraphs. Otherwise a concurrent finding of fact, which is based upon a correct understanding of the legal principles and upon a proper appreciation and analysis of the material available on record is seldom interfered with. 13. One important feature which requires to be noticed is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uch assets for purposes of the Wealth Tax Act. The Proviso added to this Para 14 reads as under:- Provided that where it is not possible to calculate the amount of debt so utilised, it shall be taken as the amount which bears the same proportion to the total of the debts owed by the assessee as the value of that asset bears to the total value of the assets of the business. 16. The Commissioner of Appeals has virtually declared that Rule 14 comprising of Part-D of the Schedule-III of the Act does, not apply only on the ground that the net value of all the assets of the business, as a whole, are not undertaken in the instant case. The reasoning assigned by the Commissioner of Appeals is hardly satisfactory. Rule 14 of Part D of the Schedule-III of the Act, dealt with valuation of the assets of the business. When the whole of the assets of the business are being assessed, the particular assets which the Assessee has declared in its Wealth Tax Return, cannot be kept outside the assets of the business. Therefore, the applicability of Rule 14 cannot be circumvented. The Proviso to Rule 14 declares that where it is not possible to calculate the amount of debt so utilised for acq ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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