Wealth-tax exemption for commercial office premises upheld where CBDT circular treated the relief as binding on authorities.

Section 5(1)(iv) of the Wealth-tax Act was held applicable to office premises used for commercial purposes, as the relevant CBDT circular clarified that the exemption was not confined to a residential house or part of a house. The Tribunal treated the circular as binding on departmental authorities, so the assessee's claim for exemption in respect of the office premises was accepted and the Revenue's objection was rejected.

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Issues: Whether exemption under section 5(1)(iv) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 was available in respect of office premises used for commercial purposes, and whether the CBDT circular on the point was binding on the departmental authorities.

Analysis: The assessee claimed exemption for office premises included in his wealth-tax assessment. The Wealth-tax Officer disallowed the claim on the view that the exemption was confined to a house or part of a house and not to office premises. The Appellate Tribunal noted that the relevant CBDT circular clarified that the exemption under section 5(1)(iv) was available even where the house was used for commercial purposes, and that such circular was binding on the departmental authorities.

Conclusion: The exemption was rightly allowed, the circular was binding, and the Revenue's challenge failed.

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