2004 (10) TMI 29 - HC - Income Tax

Expenditure Tax Act, 1987 - 1. Whether, is not the assessee exigible to the Expenditure-tax Act? - 2. Whether Tribunal is right in law in holding that the Expenditure-tax Act would apply only to the category of hotels identified by a bench mark of a minimum rent of above Rs. 400 for any type of accommodation? - According to us, the word any occurring in section 3 of the Expenditure-tax Act cannot be restricted to one unit of residential accommodation. If we restrict to one, it will mean that all the persons, who are accommodated in a hotel of which one room is rented out for Rs. 400 per day, then all the inmates are liable to pay expenditure tax. According to us, it is not the intention of the statute. The words any unit of residential accommodation means all the units of accommodation. According to us, this interpretation will be in tune with the intention of the legislation. We agree with the Tribunal and we answer questions Nos. 1 and 2 in favour of the assessee

Summary

Issues:
1. Whether the assessee is liable to the Expenditure-tax Act?
2. Whether the Expenditure-tax Act applies only to hotels with a minimum rent benchmark above Rs. 400 for any type of accommodation?

Issue 1:
The case involved an assessee, a private limited company running a hotel, where the Assessing Officer imposed expenditure-tax due to rent charges exceeding the limit under the Expenditure-tax Act. The Assessing Officer specifically noted that for Suite No. 501, the rent was Rs. 700 per day. The Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) ruled that expenditure-tax was not applicable as there was only one unit of residential accommodation with rent exceeding Rs. 400 per day. The Tribunal upheld this decision, leading to the references made to the High Court.

Issue 2:
The crux of the second issue was the interpretation of the Expenditure-tax Act concerning the phrase "any unit of residential accommodation." The Revenue argued that if a single room in a hotel is rented out for Rs. 400 or more, the entire hotel's chargeable expenditure should be taxed. Conversely, the assessee's counsel contended that taxing all guests due to one room's rent exceeding Rs. 400 was not legal. The High Court analyzed the Finance Minister's speech during the Act's introduction and relevant case laws to interpret the word "any." The Court concluded that "any unit of residential accommodation" should encompass all units in the hotel, aligning with the legislative intent.

In conclusion, the High Court sided with the assessee, ruling in their favor against the Revenue on both issues. The Court's interpretation of the Expenditure-tax Act favored a broader understanding of "any unit of residential accommodation," ensuring that all units in a hotel were considered for taxation purposes rather than taxing all guests due to a single room's rent exceeding the threshold.