Hindu Undivided Family wealth-tax threshold applies only when an individual member exceeds the prescribed limit

Item (1A) of paragraph A of the Wealth-tax Act Schedule was held inapplicable to a Hindu undivided family where the relevant "member" condition was not met. The clause was construed to require an individual member of the larger HUF to have net wealth assessable above the prescribed limit for the assessment year; a smaller HUF was not treated as such a member. Because no member was assessable in an individual capacity with wealth above the threshold, the assessee did not fall within the express statutory terms and the normal wealth-tax rate applied.

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Issues: Whether item (1A) of paragraph A of the Schedule to the Wealth-tax Act applied to a Hindu undivided family where the members who had formed smaller Hindu undivided families were separately assessed to wealth-tax.

Analysis: The clause imposed a higher rate only on a Hindu undivided family having at least one member whose net wealth assessable for the relevant assessment year exceeded the prescribed limit. The word "member" was construed to mean an individual member and not a smaller Hindu undivided family. Since no member of the larger Hindu undivided family was assessable in an individual capacity with net wealth exceeding the limit, the case did not fall within the express terms of the clause. A higher rate could be applied only where the assessee squarely satisfied the statutory condition.

Conclusion: Item (1A) did not apply, and the normal rate of wealth-tax was correctly directed to be applied.

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