TMI Blog1989 (12) TMI 15X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... erred at the instance of the assessee herein for the very assessment year which were disposed of by this court in the decision in CWT v. Sara Varghese [1988] 170 ITR 436. The brief facts essential to understand the scope and impact of the question referred herein at the instance of the Revenue are as follows : For the assessment year 1973-74, the relevant valuation date was March 31, 1973. The assessee is an individual. She owned 32 acres of land out of which 26 acres of land were covered with rubber plantations. Six acres were covered with trees like mango, coconut, etc. There was also a building in the property used as residence and office of the assessee. The assessee valued the property as on the valuation date, viz., March 31, 1973, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed by the two other questions. It was argued that the Appellate Tribunal totally erred in fixing the value of the property for the assessment Year 1973-74 at Rs. 250 per cent. The value obtained for the same property soon after the valuation date from the Housing Board at Rs. 440 per cent. is a strong item of evidence which was not given due weight by the Appellate Tribunal. What is more, the Appellate Tribunal referred to the valuation of rubber estates in the year 1969, near Thodupuzha and, based on that, the Appellate Tribunal arrived at the valuation of the instant property which is situate at a different place, in Ernakulam town. These two aspects have totally vitiated the conclusion of the Appellate Tribunal. So, counsel for the Reven ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the view that the question referred to this court by the Appellate Tribunal is not a question of law, but purely a question of fact. Counsel for the Revenue submitted that in the Himalaya Trading Co.'s case [1987] 168 ITR 586 (Delhi) what was involved was only the method of valuation. Here the question referred to this court is regarding "the method and manner of valuation" of rubber estates. So, the manner of valuation involves the application of the principles of law, We are of the view that there is no substance in this plea. In Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary, New Edition, 1983, at page 766, the word "manner" is explained thus : "Manner, the way in which anything is done ; method ; fashion personal style of acting or bearing ; ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re involved in the matter of valuation. Some of the principles to be borne in mind in that direction have been stated in the Bench decision of this court in CIT v. P. I. George [1988] 171 ITR 620. Decisions are legion dealing with various aspects regarding valuation. The qualitative and quantitative analysis in the matter of valuation will differ from asset to asset, from place to place, and also considering the particular statute for which the valuation and price of the property has to be determined. It cannot be a wooden rule. Different methods and approaches necessarily in the context of different statutes under which the market value of an asset has got to be determined pose difficult problems. The market value has got to be fixed with ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is loss, while in the first it is to ascertain what money value is plainly contained in the asset so as to afford a proper measure of liability to tax. While this difference cannot change the test of value, it is not without effect upon a court's attitude in the application of the test. In a case of compensation, doubts are resolved in favour of a more liberal estimate, in a revenue case, of a more conservative estimate." It is not a wooden or mechanical rule that can be applied to determine the value of an asset or property as applicable in all cases, whatever be the nature of the statute under which the valuation has to be fixed. In this case, the assessee was the owner of 26 acres of rubber plantation. She was residing in the buildin ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... only Rs. 50 per cent. in 1970-71. The rubber estate in the instant case is near Edappilly, adjacent to the metropolitan town Ernakulam, Cochin. The value of good yielding rubber estate in Thodupuzha may provide a guidance for valuation of similar property and is not totally irrelevant. Even reckoning the rapid urbanisation of Ernakulam, and reckoning with the fact that the valuation has to be fixed for period of years, the Appellate Tribunal held that, for the year 1973-74, Rs. 250 per cent, will be the proper market value. The Appellate Tribunal fixed the above valuation after adverting to relevant material. Thus, the valuation of a rubber estate even in a good yielding area and bearing in mind the urbanisation of the area where the rubbe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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