COMMISSIONER OF WEALTH TAX Vs. RAGHUBAR NARAIN SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY two orders, dated the 25th November, 1965, and 12th December, 1966, the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Patna Bench, Patna, have referred two consolidated statements of cases to this court for opinion, under Section 27(1) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957. In the consolidated statement relating to wealth-tax assessments for the years 1957-58, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1960-61 and 1961-62 (numbered in this court as Tax Cases Nos. 23 to 27 of 1966), sent at the instance of the Commissioner of Wealth-tax, a single question has been formulated for opinion as follows :

(2.) IN the consolidated statement of cases relating to the same years (numbered in this court as Tax Cases Nos. 64 to 68 of 1967), sent at the instance of the assessee, the following questions have been referred for opinion :

(3.) IF the decrees were valued under Section 7(1), it is obvious that they have not been valued according to the requirements of that provision of law. Merely because the assessee had shown the full decretal amounts in his books as still due, that would not ipso facto lead to the conclusion that they would be valued at those sums without taking into consideration the hazards for realisation of the decrees. For instance, the decree obtained against Sri D.D. Tulsi was dated the 16th April, 1952, and that decree has not yet been executed. Similarly, the decree against Sri A.H. Lal is still in the process of execution and the Wealth-tax Officer was bound to take into consideration such matter in valuing the decrees under Section 7(1) of the Act. The Wealth-tax Officer was bound to estimate the price that the decrees would have fetched, if sold in the open market on the valuation dates, in a manner as might reasonably be calculated to obtain for the vendor the best price of the property. The answer to this question is in the negative.