1983 (4) TMI 89

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..... bring into focus the facts which are relevant for its determination. 2. The assessee is an individual. For purpose of Wealth-tax assessment, the valuation date is 31st March, For the assessment year under appeal, the WTO during the course of assessment proceedings, considered the claim made by the assessee that the value of house No. 13-E, Sarabhy Nagar, Ludhiana be taken as on 31st March, 1977 .....

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..... n, he relied on the judgment of the Tribunal (Cuttack Bench Camp : Jaipur) in WTA Nos. 639 to 642 of 1980 dt. 20th June, 1981 reported in (1981) 25 CTR (Trib) 1. He emphasised that s. 7 is a machinery section and, therefore, benefit thereof cannot be denied to the assessee by whittling down the provision in the manner done by the authorities below by placing a restricted interpretation on the prov .....

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..... nowhere laid down by this sub-section that it is applicable with effect from a particular assessment year. The fact that it is inserted w. e. f. 1st April, 1976 ipso facto would not be enough to hold that it is applicable only for the asst. yr. 1976-77 and onwards because a procedural section cannot be interpreted in this manner. 7. The Hon'ble Bombay High Court in the case of Smt. Kusumben & Ma .....

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..... no basis for denying the benefit to the assessee because it is now well settled that in the interpretation of the taxing statute, if there are two views possible, the one that favours the subject has to be adopted. Therefore, the authorities, below erred in denying the benefit of s. 7(4) of the WT Act to the assessee. 9. One may look at the issue from another angle. Sec. 7(4) gives an option to .....

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..... dras High Court in the case of CIT vs. Simpson & Co. (1980) 122 ITR 283 (Mad), the administrative authorities or the Courts should not whittle down the plentude of the exemption or relief merely because and merely by laying stress on any ambiguity here or there. 10. We, therefore, set aside the orders of the authorities below on the issue before us and direct the WTO to recompute the net wealth .....

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