MUNICIPAL COUNCILSATNA Vs. BIRLA JUTE MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Municipal Council. Satna by this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, challenges the assessment of property tax for the year 1975-76 on the lands and buildings of M/s Birla Jute Manufacturing Company Ltd., which has a cement factory at Satna under the privisions of the Madhya Pradesh Nagriya Sthawar Sampatti Kar Adhiniyam, 1964.

(2.) The property tax under the Adhiniyam is assessed and collected by the State Government. Sixty per cent of the tax realised in respect of the lands or buildings within the limits of a local authority is to be paid to that authority by the Government after deducting collection charges, as is provided in Section 36 of the Adhiniyam. The case of the petitioner Council is that the tax was assessed contrary to the principles set out in the Adhiniyam and was very low and as the Council has to get 60% of the tax realised, it had a sufficient interest to file this petition for challenging the assessment. The fact that the petitioner Council is entitled to 60% of the tax realised for the year 1975-76, in our opinion gives it a standing to challenge the assessment. Indeed, this legal position was not contested by the learned counsel appearing for the respondent company.

(3.) The Property-tax Officer by order dt. 31st March 1975 (Annexure P-2) imposed Rs. 3.02.782.54 as property tax on the buildings and lands of the company. The company filed an appeal which was allowed by the Assistant Property-tax Commissioner bv his order dt. 5th July 1975 and the case was remanded. After remand, the Property-tax Officer by order dt. 3rd Sept. 1975 reiterated his earlier order. The company again filed an appeal to the Assistant Property-tax Commissioner which was dismissed as time barred on 29th Sept. 1976. The Company then preferred a second appeal to the Deputy Property-tax Commissioner which was allowed on 16th Nov. 1976 and the tax imposed by the Property-tax Officer was reduced to Rs. 66,078.04. The Deputy Property- tax Commissioner has determined the annual letting value of lands and buildings which were not let out on the basis of one-twentieth of their valuation as given in the balance-sheet of the company for the relevant year. Further, the Deputy Property-tax Commissioner excluded from consideration two chimneys on the ground that they were part of the machinery.