TMI Blog1972 (6) TMI 12X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... durga Gowrishankar Mica Mine, which is one of the assets of the assessee. The assessee was granted a lease for mining mica for twenty years by the Government in 1953 to take effect from 1954. The land which was the subject- matter of the lease was the patta land of the assessee. In a compromise decree in 1953, the mine was valued at Rs 3,09,931. The question of valuing this mine for the years 1959-60 to 1964-65 arose in proceedings before the Wealth-tax Officer. Ultimately, when the proceedings culminated in an appeal before the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, the Tribunal took the value given in the compromise decree by the assessee herself, as the value of the mine at the commencement of the lease. It then directed that the value for the r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Wealth-tax Officer may, instead of determining separately the value of each asset held by the assessee in such business, determine the net value of the assets of the business as a whole having regard to the balance-sheet of such business as on the valuation date and making such adjustments therein as the circumstances of the case may require. " Under this section the Wealth-tax Officer is empowered to value the business as a whole instead of following the estimate as he is required to do under section 7(1). While valuing the business as a whole this sub-section directs that he should have regard to the balance-sheet of such business as on the valuation date and also make such adjustments therein as the circumstances may require. The word ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ssets at the figure shown by the assessee in the balance-sheet. It is open to the assessee to convince the authorities that that figure was inflated for acceptable reasons. Sri Rama Rao contended that in this case no attempt was made by the assessee at all to show as to whether the figure of Rs. 3,09,931 mentioned in all the balance-sheets was an inflated figure and if so, whether it was done for any acceptable reasons. It is true that prima facie the statement made by the assessee in the balance-sheet may be taken as correct by the Wealth-tax Officer, but under the very terms, under section 7(2(a), the Wealth-tax Officer is expected not only to have regard to the figure mentioned in the balance-sheet, but also to make adjustments in arri ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... asis of the balance-sheet, or to say that the balance-sheet is conclusive one way or another. The words " having regard to the balance-sheet " show that it may give some indication and some guide to the Wealth-tax Officer in determining the net value of the business as a whole, but in determining even the net value of the business as a whole, the Wealth-tax Officer is not bound by the assets stated in the balance-sheet, nor is the assessee bound. Earlier, they pointed out that it is the market value which is the object to achieve under section 7 of the Wealth-tax Act. The items shown in the balance-sheet are not necessarily based on the market value although they may in some way be connected with the market value. That is why, in our view, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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