1985 (4) TMI 81 - AT - Wealth-tax

WTO Tribunal Affirms Jurisdiction on Urban Wealth Tax; Precedent Used for Rectification

The Tribunal upheld the AAC's decision, affirming the jurisdiction of the WTO to rectify the missed levy of additional wealth tax on urban immovable ... - Issues:- Appeal against order of AAC upholding WTO's action in passing orders under s. 35 of the WT Act, 1957 and levying additional wealth tax on urban immovable property.- Failure to levy additional wealth tax on urban immovable properties in original assessments.- Jurisdiction of WTO to rectify the calculation of tax and levy additional wealth tax under s. 35 of the Act.- Interpretation of additional wealth tax as a separate tax.- Applicability of s. 35 of the Act to rectify missed levy of additional wealth tax.- Comparison with relevant case laws.Analysis:The case involves an appeal against the order of the AAC, where the assessee challenged the WTO's action of passing orders under s. 35 of the WT Act, 1957 to levy additional wealth tax on urban immovable property. The original assessments failed to include this additional tax, leading to rectification proceedings initiated by the WTO.The AAC upheld the WTO's action, stating that additional wealth tax is part of the tax and rectifiable under s. 35 of the Act. The assessee argued that the failure to levy this tax originally cannot be cured under s. 35, citing relevant case laws and emphasizing the separate nature of the additional wealth tax.The Tribunal considered the submissions and ruled against the assessee, highlighting that the additional wealth tax is distinct from the wealth tax under s. 3 of the Act. The Tribunal referenced the Schedule to the Act, which specifies the rates for levying additional wealth tax on urban immovable property. The missed levy of this tax was rectified under s. 35, following the decision in a similar case law.The Tribunal drew parallels with a case under the IT Act, where the failure to levy surcharge and additional surcharge was rectified using provisions similar to s. 35 of the WT Act. Relying on precedent, the Tribunal upheld the AAC's order and dismissed the appeals, affirming the jurisdiction of the WTO to rectify the missed levy of additional wealth tax on urban immovable properties.