9911796707
TMI Blog1983 (7) TMI 82X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... llotted him a plot of land admeasuring 510 sq. yds. and the assessee paid initial instalment of Rs. 8,000 to the society. When he filed a return for the assessment year 1979-80 on 9-10-1979 declaring net wealth of Rs. 2,52,215, he showed the value of this plot at Rs. 8,000 in the return. He filed a return on 13-11-1979 declaring net wealth of Rs. 3,51,600 revising the value of the jewellery but keeping the value of the plot at the same figure as declared earlier. 3. During the course of assessment proceedings, a claim was made before the WTO that the value of the plot shown by the assessee was exempt under section 5(1)(xxx) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 ('the Act'). The WTO, however, did not accept this claim. On the other hand, he estimate ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... alue of which has been included in the net wealth of the assessee. For the proposition that the right, title and interest of the assessee in the co-operative society anent (sic) the plot of land in dispute could not be valued in the manner done by the authorities below and could not be included in his net wealth. The learned counsel for the assessee relied on the ratio decidendi of the following judgments : CIT v. Zorostrian Building Society Ltd. [1976] 102 ITR 499 (Bom.), Divvi Suryanarayana Murthy v. Competent Authority, IAC [1979] 117 ITR 278 (AP) and CIT v. Bhurangya Coal Co. [1958] 34 ITR 802 (SC). 6. On the other hand, the learned departmental representative submitted that a plot of land should be considered as part of a building ev ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ding in itself nor a part thereof. If we are to uphold the contention of the revenue in this regard, all the vacant lands lying can be said to be part of buildings. This proposition, therefore, appears to us to be absolutely untenable and unsustainable. The plot of land not being either a building or a part thereof, any deposit made by the assessee in such a plot would not be available for exemption under section 5(1)(xxx). 8. Now coming to the provisions of section 4(7), we find that where the assessee is a member of AOP being a co-operative housing society and a building or a part thereof is allotted or leased to him under a house building scheme of the society, the assessee shall, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... this Act of all the assets, wherever located, belonging to the assessee on the valuation date, including assets required to be included in his net wealth as on that date under the Act, is in excess of the aggregate value of all the debts owed by the assessee on the valuation date. To this there are certain exceptions provided under the definition but we are not concerned with them in determining the issue before us. The argument of the learned counsel for the assessee, therefore, that the assessee was not the owner of the plot, cannot be of much help to him. No doubt the ownership will belong to the assessee after a registered deed is executed as held by the Supreme Court in the case of Bhurangya Coal Co. and subsequent judgment on this is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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