LAL CHAND Vs. COMMISSIONER M C D

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The revision petitioner has come before this Commission against the Order of the State Commission which ruled that house tax levied by the Delhi Municipal Corporation under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act was in the nature of a tax, that the levy of the tax is not dependent upon providing of civil amenities to the house owners or occupiers and that the complaint about the quantum of assessment of the tax or the fixation of the ratable value of house for the purpose of the tax was not entertainable by the Forums under the Consumer Protection-Act, 1986.

(2.) There is no warrant for the statement made by the appellant in his revision petition that the General Tax levied as Property Tax was for maintenance of health services, family planning and parks etc. The State Commission has rightly pointed out that the Municipal Corporation Act provides means for redress to the assessee in case they consider that the tax is not either leviable or has not been fixed in accordance with law. In any case, assessment and collection of house tax is not a consideration for any service rendered or to be rendered by the Corporation to the house owners of Delhi. There is no nexus between the tax and the services rendered by the Municipality. Any complaint about levy and collection of such tax does not make the assessee a consumer as defined under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

(3.) We are, therefore, in complete agreement with the order of the State Commission. The Revision Petition is dismissed. Revision dismissed.