Temporary lessee not liable for property tax where statute charges only the owner and tenants in perpetuity.

A temporary lessee of land and buildings is not liable to house/property tax where the municipal levy is confined to the owner. The Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, was read as taxing the owner under Section 61(1)(a), and the statutory definition of owner did not extend liability to a mere temporary lessee. The proviso, which shifts liability only to tenants in perpetuity, confirmed that other tenants fall outside the charge. As the lease documents showed only a temporary allotment or lease, subject to restrictions and terminable by the lessor, the club could not be assessed to property tax on the basis of possession or use alone.

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Issues: Whether the appellant-club, being only a temporary lessee of the land and buildings, was liable to house/property tax as an owner or as a tenant in perpetuity under the municipal law.

Analysis: The levy under Section 61(1)(a) of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911 is a tax on the owner of land and buildings. The statutory definition of owner in Section 3(11) does not enlarge the levy so as to fasten liability on a mere temporary lessee. The proviso to Section 61(1)(a), which specifically shifts liability to tenants in perpetuity, shows that tenants other than tenants in perpetuity are outside the charge. The lease documents and allied communications established that the club held only a temporary allotment or temporary lease, subject to strict restrictions and terminable by the lessor, and not a lease in perpetuity. The respondent therefore had no authority to assess the club to house/property tax merely on the basis of its possession or use of the demised property.

Conclusion: The appellant-club was not liable to house/property tax in respect of the vacant land and the buildings owned by the lessor and demised to it as part of the leased property.

Ratio Decidendi: For purposes of a property-tax levy confined by statute to the owner, a temporary lessee is not liable unless the statute expressly brings tenants in perpetuity within the charge.

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