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Assessment of the value of industrial plot of land for wealth tax purposes based on the timing of execution and registration of conveyance deed. Analysis: The appeal involved a dispute regarding the assessment of the value of an industrial plot of land purchased by the assessee from the D.D.A. in an open auction. The assessee, a private limited company, acquired the industrial plot before the valuation date, but the conveyance deed was executed and registered after the valuation date. The Assessing Officer and the CWT(A) included the value of the land in the assessable wealth of the assessee based on the sale deed mentioning the transfer date as before the valuation date. The counsel for the assessee argued that under the Transfer of Property Act, a sale of immovable property is completed only upon registration of the document, and possession alone does not establish ownership for wealth tax purposes. The Departmental Representative supported the lower authorities, contending that the registration related back to the transfer date mentioned in the sale deed. The Tribunal considered the issue of whether the land belonged to the assessee-company as on the valuation date. Despite possession and payment before the valuation date, the conveyance deed was executed and registered after. The Tribunal referred to the Indian Registration Act, which states that registration does not create a new title but affirms an existing one, and the title relates back to the date of execution. Citing the decision in Hall & Anderson (P.) Ltd. v. CIT, the Tribunal held that the land could not be considered belonging to the assessee prior to the execution of the conveyance deed. It also referred to the case of Divvi Suryanarayana Murthy, where the Andhra Pradesh High Court emphasized that a sale is completed only upon registration of the sale deed. The Supreme Court's ruling in Nawab Sir Mir Osman Ali Khan highlighted that mere possession does not establish ownership for wealth tax purposes. Ultimately, the Tribunal concluded that since the execution and registration of the document occurred after the valuation date, the value of the land could not be included in the assessable wealth of the assessee. As a result, the addition of the land value was deleted, and the appeal of the assessee was allowed.
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