2016 (5) TMI 980 - AT - Wealth-tax

Valuation of immovable properties - matter refereed to Department Valuer for determining the fair market value - Held that - While deciding the issue in favour of assessee ld.CWT(A) has given a finding that identical issue about the valuation of same property arose in assessee s case for AYs 1987-88 & 1988-89 and that the Co-ordinate Bench of Tribunal had decided the issue in favour of assessee. Accordingly, the claim of the appellant that the valuation proposed by it on the basis of registered valuation report should be accepted appears to be justified and is acceptable. The valuation made by the AO is therefore, set aside and that filed by the appellant is directed to be adopted

Summary

Issues:
Consolidated appeal against the order of the Commissioner of Wealth Tax(Appeals) for assessment years 1990-91 & 1991-92.

Analysis:
1. Valuation Discrepancy: The Assessing Officer (AO) found the value of immovable properties declared by the assessee to be less than fair market value and referred the matter to the Department Valuer. The Valuer determined the value, leading to a higher taxable wealth determination by the AO. The Commissioner of Wealth Tax(Appeals) (CWT(A)) initially decided in favor of the assessee, but the matter was appealed by the Revenue to the Tribunal. The Tribunal, in a previous order, had set aside the issue for fresh adjudication. In the subsequent order, the CWT(A) decided in favor of the assessee based on past Tribunal decisions in the assessee's favor for earlier years. The CWT(A) upheld the valuation submitted by the appellant's valuer report, which was not accepted by the DVO, leading to a consistent valuation dispute. The Tribunal, noting the lack of distinguishing features in the present case compared to previous years, upheld the CWT(A) decision due to the binding precedent set by the Tribunal in the assessee's favor.

2. Identical Facts: Both parties acknowledged the identical nature of facts in the appeals for assessment years 1990-91 & 1991-92. The Tribunal, based on the upheld decision for the first assessment year, dismissed the Revenue's grounds for the subsequent year as well. As no distinguishing features were pointed out by the Revenue, the Tribunal found no reason to interfere with the CWT(A) order for either assessment year. Consequently, both appeals by the Revenue were dismissed.

In conclusion, the Tribunal upheld the CWT(A) decision in favor of the assessee based on past Tribunal rulings and the consistency in valuation disputes. The identical nature of facts for both assessment years led to the dismissal of the Revenue's appeals for both 1990-91 and 1991-92.