Business premises exemption applies when owned property is used in the assessee's partnership business, with no added capacity restriction.

Premises owned by an assessee and used in his partnership business qualified as "business premises" for exemption from additional wealth-tax. The Tribunal held that the statutory conditions were satisfied where the asset was owned by the assessee and used in the assessee's business, and no further restriction could be read in requiring use only in the capacity of owner. It treated the firm's business as the assessee's own business for this purpose and held that letting the property to the assessee's business did not defeat the exemption. The Revenue's appeals failed.

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Issues: (i) Whether premises owned by the assessee and used in the business of a firm in which he was a partner qualified as "business premises" exempt from additional wealth-tax under the relevant schedule to the Wealth-tax Act, 1957.

Analysis: The statutory conditions were ownership by the assessee and use in the assessee's business. The Tribunal held that these conditions were separately satisfied and that no further requirement could be read into the definition that the user must be in the capacity of owner rather than in the capacity of partner. It treated the business of the firm as the business of the partner-assessee and held that letting the property to the assessee's own business did not destroy the exemption.

Conclusion: The property qualified as business premises and remained exempt from additional wealth-tax; the Revenue's appeals failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where statutory exemption depends only on ownership by the assessee and use of the asset in his business, a court cannot import an additional condition limiting such use to the capacity of owner if the asset is in fact used in the assessee's partnership business.

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