TMI Blog2019 (4) TMI 1195X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sing out of WTA No. 18/VIZ/2018) - - - Dated:- 3-4-2019 - Shri V. Durga Rao, Hon ble Judicial Member And Shri D.S. Sunder Singh, Hon ble Accountant Member For the Assessee : Shri G.V.N. Hari Advocate. For the Department : Shri T.S.N. Murthy CIT DR ORDER PER V. DURGA RAO, JUDICIAL MEMBER This appeal by the Department and the C.O. by the assessee is directed against the order of Commissioner of Wealth Tax (Appeals)-1, Visakhapatnam, dated 05/09/2018 for the Assessment Year 2007-08. 2. Facts of the case, in brief, are that the assessee is a private limited company, engaged in agricultural activities and also entitled to pursue purchase and sale of immovable properties. The assessee has not filed its return of wealth for the Assessment Year 2007-08. A notice under section 17(1) of the Wealth Tax Act, 1957 (for short, the Act ) was issued on 31/05/2010 by the DCIT, Circle-4(1), Visakhapatnam. In response thereto, the assessee-company filed its return of net wealth on 01/07/2010 declaring net wealth at NIL and claimed exemption of ₹ 3,39,63,215/-. The case of the assessee was selected for scrutiny and after following due process, Assessing Of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... agricultural use'. Mere absence of the agricultural operations does not automatically convert an agricultural land into non-agricultural land. The appellant places reliance in the case of Amin Chand Mehta vs. Commissioner of Wealth Tax (2014) 227 CTR 150(HP). 4. Report issued by Remote Sensing Instruments Hyderabad: The appellant submitted the report on study of vegetative cover/land use pattern conducted by the remote sensing instruments, Hyderabad (NRSC) before the learned CIT(A) on 30-07-2015. As per this report, it is ascertained that agricultural fields/crops exists on the impugned land. The information u/s 133(6) of the Act from the signatory of the report dt.30-07-2015. Accordingly, he commented that there were no agricultural operations during F.Y.2006-07. However, the fact stated in the said report to the effect that there were trees along the boundaries of the site right since 01-05-2004 is not disputed. Further, w.r.t land at Kommadi, the report clearly states that there are agricultural operations. Further, in a similar case, the learned CIT(A)-2, Guntur held that in the absence of any contradicting material or report gathered by the assessing officer ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e appellant submitted the report on study of vegetative cover/ land use pattern conducted by the Remote Sensing Instruments, Hyderabad (NRSC) before the learned CIT(A) on 30-07-2015. As per this report, it is ascertained that agricultural fields/ crops exists on the impugned land. The AG in his Remand report dated 20-09-2017 mentioned that he elicited information u/s.133(6) if the act from the signatory of the report dated 30-07-2015. Accordingly, he commented that there were no agricultural operations during FY 2006-07. However, the fact stated in the said report 01-05-2004 is not disputed. Further, w.r.t land at Kommadi, the report clearly states that there are agricultural operations. Further, in a similar case, the learned CIT(A)-2, Guntur held that in the absence of any contradicting material or report gathered by the AO the validity of the report issued by the Remote Sensing Instruments shall not be questioned and the contents of the report can be relied upon for ascertaining the nature of the land. A copy of the order of the learned CIT(A)-2, Guntur is enclosed herewith. In view of the above, the appellant prays that the AO may be directed to delete the addition ma ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... wn 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 according to the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published before the valuation date or (ii) in an area within such distance, distance, not being more than eight kilometers from the local limits of any municipality or cantonment board referred to in sub-clause (1) urbanization of that area and other relevant considerations, specify in this behalf by notification in the official gazette, but does not include land classified as agricultural land in the record of the government and used for agricultural purposes or land on which construction of a building is not permissible under any law for 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 acquisition by him or any land held by the assessee as stock in trade for a period often years from the date of its acquisition by him . In this case the As ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... .yds respectively valued at ₹ 1,81,06,000/-. The impugned property was claimed as exempt u/s 2(ea) of Wealth Tax Act by the assessee. The assessee has furnished the land records in the form of adangal and argued that the lands in question were agricultural lands as per Government records and also submitted that various crops are grown in the agricultural land. The fact the lands in question were agricultural lands was supported by the report of RSI, an ISO Company independent surveyor. The assessee also furnished the tenancy agreement from G.Mallesu for payment of ₹ 4,000 per annum, per acre dated 22.02.2014 which was a notarised affidavit. Though the Ld.AO and the CWT(A) placed heavy reliance on the report given by Tahsildar, Visakhapatnam (Rural) for treating the lands in question as non agricultural lands, the Tahsildar Visakhapatnam has submitted report on 25.03.2015 on the basis of report submitted by the field staff dated 20.03.2015, but not made any personal inspection on his own on the impugned lands. The report of the field staff was also not furnished. The Ld.Tahsildar expressed opinion of non agricultural land since the land particulars are recorded in s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f 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 '(1), as the Central Government may, having regard to the extent of, and scope for, urbanization of that area and other, relevant considerations, specify in this behalf by notification in the Official Gazette, but does not include land classified as agricultural land in the records of the Governmentand used for agricultural purposes or land on which construction of a building is not permissible under any law for 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. 7. In the instant case, the AO has not brought on record any evidence to show that the lands are converted. O ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n assessee for the Purposes of the provisions of WT Act. The first the WT Act. The first appellate authority had proceeded on the assumption that now orders of Supreme Court dt. 1st May, 1991, qua redevelopment had been permitted of the mill area to flatted factory complex and group housing complex. Leave was also granted to demolish the existing building. It is not in dispute before us that till date no permission/approval has been granted by the appropriate authority to the asssessee to raise the building in consonance with the plans and as such the old structure existing is not in conformity, with law and had not been raised with the leave of any authority. In other words, on the land in question, no construction was permitted and the authorities concerned have not granted its approval so far for raising construction on that land In other of these cases, the land would stand excluded from the definition of urban land chargeable to wealth-tax. 8. Similar view was expressed by the Hon‟ble Punjab Haryana High Court in the case of Commissioner of Wealth Tax Vs. Lt.Gen.(Retd.) R.K.Mehra reported (2010) [284 CTR 205]. Hon‟ble High Court of Madras in the case o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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