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TMI Blog2007 (7) TMI 629X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Delhi, a notice wherefor was issued in March 1997 purported to be under Section 126 of the Act to fix the rateable value thereof at Rs. 50,00,000/- with effect from 01.04.1996. Respondents herein objected to the said proposal. They filed various documents in support of their case stating that the property in question had jointly been purchased by Anil Gupta, Qimat Rai Gupta and Vinod Gupta by four separate deeds of sale for a total consideration of Rs. 32,00,000/-. The market value of the land was assessed by the assessee at Rs. 89,93,100/- comprising of the value of the land at Rs. 42,19,000/- and cost of construction at Rs. 51,00,000/-. The said market value disclosed by the assessee was not accepted by the assessing authority. The assessing officer upon hearing the respondents assessed the value at Rs. 1,40,90,100/- and determined the rateable value therefor at Rs. 11,97,660/- with effect from 01.04.1996. Aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the said order of assessment, Respondents preferred an appeal in the Court of Additional District Judge, Delhi, in terms of Section 169 of the Act, inter alia, on the ground that the order of assessment was barred by limitation. By reason of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t provides for taxation. Levy of property taxes is envisaged under sub-section (1) of Section 113 of the Act. Section 114 provides for the components of property tax. Section 114A provides for building tax. Section 114C provides for vacant land tax. Section 123A provides for submission of returns. Section 123B provides for self-assessment and submission of return. 9. Appellant has, thus, a statutory power to impose property tax. Section 124 of the Act provided for assessment list, sub-section (1) whereof reads as under : "(1) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the Corporation shall cause an assessment list of all lands and buildings in Delhi to be prepared in such form and manner and containing such particulars with respect to each land and building as may be prescribed by bye- laws." 10. Section 126 of the Act empowers the Commissioner to amend the assessment list in terms of one or the other modes provided for therein. Sub-section (2) thereof provids for giving an opportunity to the assessee of being heard before an order of amendment is made. Sub-section (3) of Section 126 obligats the Commissioner to consider the objections which may be made by such persons. Clause (b) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... one. Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation is a statutory authority. The terms and conditions of his appointment are governed by Section 54 of the Act. He can be appointed only by the Central Government. The power of amendment can be exercised at any time, as would appear from sub-section (1) of Section 126 of the Act; the only limitation therefor being that a fresh order would not relate back to the end of the financial year in which the notice is issued. 15. Indisputably, the Parliament did not intend to confer unbriddled power on the Commissioner to amend the assessment list. For that purpose only a period within which the jurisdiction is to be exercised was contemplated, namely, before the expiry of three years from the end of the year in which the notice is given, but the same would not mean that the restriction imposed should be given a restricted meaning so as to narrow down the scope thereof any further. 16. In interpreting a provision dealing with limitation, a liberal interpretation in a situation of this nature should be given. Although an order passed after expiry of the period of limitation fixed under the statute would be a nullity, the same would not mean that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... made a distinction between a civil case and a criminal case, stating : "10. In our opinion, a judgment within the meaning of these sections is the final decision of the court intimated to the parties and to the world at large by formal "pronouncement" or "delivery" in open court. It is a judicial act which must be performed in a judicial way. Small irregularities in the manner of pronouncement or the mode of delivery do not matter but the substance of the thing must be there : that can neither be blurred nor left to inference and conjecture nor can it be vague. All the rest - the manner in which it is to be recorded, the way in which it is to be authenticated, the signing and the sealing, all the rules designed to secure certainty about its content and matter - can be cured; but not the hard core, namely the formal intimation of the decision and its contents formally declared in a judicial way in open court. The exact way in which this is done does not matter. In some courts the judgment is delivered orally or read out, in some only the operative portion is pronounced, in some the judgment is merely signed after giving notice to the parties and laying the draft on the table for a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to be the loser in the transaction and it is for his interest the very provision is made by the legislature. The words in Clause (b) of the proviso to Section 138 of the Act show that payee has the statutory obligation to 'make a demand' by giving notice. The thrust in the clause is on the need to 'make a demand'. It is only the mode for making such demand which the legislature has prescribed. A payee can send the notice for doing his part for giving the notice. Once it is despatched his part is over and the next depends on what the sendee does." [See C.C. Alavi Haji v. Palapetty Muhammed & Anr. 2007 (7) SCALE 380] 26. The question, however, in our opinion, stands concluded by a three- Judge Bench of this Court in M/s M.M. Rubber and Co., Tamil Nadu (supra), wherein Ramaswami, J. speaking for the Bench succinctly stated the law thus : "12. It may be seen therefore, that, if an authority is authorised to exercise a power or do an act affecting the rights of parties, he shall exercise that power within the period of limitation prescribed therefor. The order or decision of such authority comes into force or, becomes operative or becomes an effective order or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... have been made when it is signed. Once it is signed and an entry in that regard is made in the requisite register kept and maintained in terms of the provisions of a statute, the same cannot be changed or altered. It, subject to the other provisions contained in the Act, attains finality. Where, however, communication of an order is a necessary ingredient for bringing an end-result to a status or to provide a person an opportunity to take recourse of law if he is aggrieved thereby; the order is required to be communicated. 29. The Division Bench of the High Court, in our opinion, proceeded on a wrong premise insofar as it misconstrued and misinterpreted the word 'made' in the context of sub-section (4) of Section 126 of the Act opining that the power can be misused by the Commissioner. The Division Bench, with respect, failed to notice that there exists a presumption that the official act is presumed to have been done in regular course of business. There also exists a presumption that a statutory functionary would act honestly and bona fide. 30. We are, therefore, are not in a position to persuade ourselves to follow the line of reasoning adopted by the Division Bench of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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