NAGAR MAHAPALIKA AGRA Vs. NAGAR MAHAPALIKA TRIBUNAL AGRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) UNDER the provisions of the U.P. Nagar Mahapalika Adhiniyam, Nagar Mahapalika, Agra, which is the petitioner in this Court, fixed the annual value of property No. 18/83A, Daresi No. 3, Ward, 7 Agra at Rs. 15,000/-. The third respondent, who is the owner of that property, assailed the fixation by filing an appeal under Section 472 of the Nagar Mahapalika Adhiniyam. The appellate authority reduced the amount of annual value to Rs. 12,000/-. This order was affirmed in a further appeal by the Presiding Officer of the Nagar Mahapalika Tribunal. The two appellate orders have been assailed by the Nagar Mahapalika, Agra by way of this writ petition.

(2.) THE case of the petitioner is that the two appellate authorities committed a manifest error in excluding the amount of tax which was being paid by the tenant to the third respondent, in addition to rent, under an agreement entered into by the tenant with that respondent. In fact, according to the case of the petitioner, the entire amount, inclusive of the amount of tax, was to be treated to be the annual value of the building for the purposes of Nagar Mahapalika Adhiniyam.

(3.) A look at the order passed by the two appellate authorities would show that admittedly the agreement between the parties was that a sum of Rs. 11,000/per annum alone was payable to the third respondent as rent. The gross annual rent of the building in question would be that amount alone for which the building had been actually let out. In view of the definition of annual value as contained in Cl. (b) of S.174, it is difficult to countenance the submission made by the learned counsel for petitioner that the amount which had been undertaken to be paid as tax by the tenant was liable to be considered for computation of the annual value. In the facts and circumstances of the instant case, therefore, it cannot be said that the view taken by the two appellate authorities under the Adhiniyam suffers from any manifest error of law.