2013 (11) TMI 656 - HC - Wealth-tax

Court rules company not assessable to Wealth Tax due to public interest, upholds ITAT decision. Importance of Section 25 status highlighted.

The Court held that the assessee is a company in which the public is substantially interested and is not assessable to Wealth Tax. The Court emphasized ... Whether assessee is not assessable to Wealth Tax - Is assessee is a company in which the public is substantially interested - Assessee is a subsidiary of M/s.Ace Investments Private Limited, which held 100% shares in the assessee company. The shareholders of the company were members of Goenka Family – Held that:- 49% of the shares in Ace Investments were transferred to Bhagwan Das Goenka Educational Institution as early as on 19.03.1984 - Status of the Bhagwan Das Goenka Educational Institution, treated as Section 25 Company – As per Clause 13 of the Articles of Association, every member present in person shall have one vote only in respect of every share held by him. When the Revenue has not furnished materials to discredit this and the findings recorded before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal regarding the Ace Investments in the appeal filed by the Revenue, thus, having attained finality, in the background of this fact situation with 100% of the shares of the assessee company held by Ace Investments, which is recognised as a company in which public are substantially interested, no any justifiable ground to take a view differently as that of what had been taken by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal - When the wholly owned subsidiary could be considered as a company in which public are substantially interested, the assessee-company ought to be treated as a company in which public are substantially interested. The order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal dated 02.04.2002 in the assessee's own case, thus having attained finality, there being no appeal filed against this order – Decided against the Revenue. Issues Involved:1. Whether the assessee is a company in which the public is substantially interested.2. Whether the assessee is assessable to Wealth Tax.Detailed Analysis:1. Whether the assessee is a company in which the public is substantially interested:The core issue revolves around the status of the assessee as a company in which the public is substantially interested under Section 2(18) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The assessee claimed this status based on its relationship with M/s. Ace Investments Private Limited, which held 100% shares in the assessee company. Ace Investments, in turn, claimed that 51% of its shares were transferred to Bhagwan Das Goenka Educational Institution, a Section 25 company under the Companies Act, 1956.The Revenue contended that the mere fact that Bhagwan Das Goenka Educational Institution held 49% of the shares in Ace Investments did not automatically confer 50% voting power in Ace Investments. Furthermore, the status of Bhagwan Das Goenka Educational Institution as a Section 25 company was under challenge, leading the Revenue to argue that Ace Investments could not be considered a company in which the public is substantially interested.The Court noted that for the assessment year 1984-85, the shares in Ace Investments were transferred to Bhagwan Das Goenka Educational Institution only for the last 12 days of the relevant period, thus not meeting the requirement for the entire previous year. However, for subsequent years, the status of Ace Investments as a company in which the public is substantially interested was accepted by the Income Tax Department.The Court emphasized that the status of Bhagwan Das Goenka Educational Institution as a Section 25 company was upheld by the Calcutta High Court, and thus, it should be treated as such until a final decision is made. Consequently, the Court held that the assessee should be considered a company in which the public is substantially interested, aligning with the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal's (ITAT) previous decisions.2. Whether the assessee is assessable to Wealth Tax:The Court reviewed the assessments under the Wealth Tax Act for various years. The primary contention was whether the assessee's status as a company in which the public is substantially interested exempted it from Wealth Tax. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) had initially accepted the assessee's claim based on the status of Ace Investments but later took a different view, denying the status due to the lack of evidence that the shares of Ace Investments were held by Bhagwan Das Goenka Educational Institution throughout the relevant previous year.The ITAT, however, extended the status of a company in which the public is substantially interested to the assessee, following its earlier decision in the case of Ace Investments. The Court upheld this view, noting that the Revenue had not provided sufficient evidence to discredit the findings of the ITAT.The Court concluded that the assessee's status as a company in which the public is substantially interested should be maintained, and thus, it is not assessable to Wealth Tax.Conclusion:The Court dismissed the Revenue's appeals, affirming that the assessee is a company in which the public is substantially interested and is not assessable to Wealth Tax. The Court acknowledged that this position would hold as long as Bhagwan Das Goenka Educational Institution retains its status as a Section 25 company. The Court also noted that the Revenue could reopen the assessment if the status of Bhagwan Das Goenka Educational Institution changes adversely.