COMMISSIONER OF WEALTH TAX Vs. JANAKRAJ SONI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AT the instance of the applicant-Department, the Tribunal has stated the case and referred the undernoted questions of law arising out of the consolidated order dated November 22, 1989, passed in W. T. As. Nos. 41 to 44/(Ind) of 1989 on the Applications Nos. 9 to 12/ (Ind) of 1990 under Section 27(1) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 (for short, "the Act") :

(2.) BRIEFLY stated, the facts of the case are that the assessment years are 1983-84 to 1986-87. The date of valuation is March 31 in each year. The assessee has been assessed in the status of an individual. The Wealth-tax Officer completed the assessment for all the aforesaid years, under Section 16(1) of the Act and thereby accepted the value of the unquoted equity shares of Metalman Pipe Manufacturing Company Limited as shown by the assessee. The valuation was supported by the approved valuer's report which was based on profit-earning capacity of the company. The copies of the assessment orders are from annexures-"A/1" to "A/4" and the copy of the approved valuer's report' is annexure-"B". The Commissioner of Wealth-tax was of the view that the shares should have been valued by the Wealth-tax Officer as per Rule 1D of the Wealth-tax Rules after obtaining the balance-sheet of the company. He, therefore, took the assessment order as erroneous and prejudicial to the interests of the Revenue. He, therefore, set aside the assessment orders with the direction to the Wealth-tax Officer to determine the value of the shares afresh. The copy of the order dated March 6, 1989, is annexure "C". Aggrieved by the order of the Commissioner, the assessee came up in appeal before the Tribunal. The Tribunal set aside the order of the Commissioner of Wealth-tax on November 22, 1989 (annexure "D"). The appeals (W. T. A. Nos. 41 to 44/(Ind) of 1989) for the assessment years 1983-84 to 1986-87 filed by the assessee, were allowed on November 22, 1989. Aggrieved by the orders passed by the Tribunal in favour of the assessee, the Department filed the applications under Section 27(1) of the Act. On these applications, registered as R. A. Nos. 9 to 12/(Ind) of 1990, the Tribunal stated the case and referred the aforesaid two questions of law.

(3.) IN the aforesaid decision, it is held as under (at page 15) :