1986 (8) TMI 133

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....cted the WTO to allow such exemption from the total wealth computed by him. Against the same the revenue has preferred these appeals. 2. The learned departmental representative strongly urged that when the wealth returned is accepted the assessee is not aggrieved by the assessment orders. Hence, no appeal can be preferred against such orders. The AAC was not justified in entertaining the appeals. The learned counsel for the assessee submitted that section 23 of the Act does not exclude appeals against orders under section 16(1). The assessee denies the liability. He submits that section 246 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 ('the 1961 Act') excludes orders under section 143(1) of the 1961 Act but that is not the position under the Wealth-tax A....

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....recluded from claiming it before the AAC as his powers are coextensive with that of the WTO. In this connection we may refer to the decision of the Oudh Chief Court in Rani Anand Kunwar v. CIT [1940] 8 ITR 126 wherein it was held that mere filing of return cannot be said to be tantamount to an admission by a person submitting the return that he is liable to assessment. In Kanpur Coal Syndicate's case the Supreme Court considered the expression 'denial of liability'. It was observed as under: "... Under section 30 an assessee objecting to the amount of income assessed under section 23 or the amount of tax determined under the said section or denying his liability to be assessed under the Act can prefer an appeal against the order of the I....

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....y when he contends that the Act has no application to him at all but also when he urges that he cannot be assessed in a particular assessment proceeding taken under the Act. It was also held that a provision granting right of appeal should be construed liberally. In Gopi Lal v. CIT [1967] 65 ITR 477, the Punjab High Court at Delhi held that partial denial of liability to be assessed is comprised in the expression 'denying liability to be assessed under this Act'. It was further held that the statutes pertaining to right of appeal have to be given a liberal construction since they are remedial. In CIT v. Ahmedabad Keiser-E-Hind Mills Co. Ltd. [1981] 128 ITR 486 (Guj.) the assessee claimed before the AAC that it was entitled to a rebate under....

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.... law an asset exempt from wealth-tax can never be included in the assessable total wealth particularly when the matter has been agitated before him. In the commentary on Law and Practice of Gift-tax and Wealth-tax by C.A. Gulanikar, 1984 edn., page 1.358, the learned author has observed that even if assessment is completed under section 16(1), an appeal shall lie. 4. The ratio laid down in the above cases would squarely apply. In the instant case, the assessee had life interest in H.E.H. the Nizam's Trusts. The assessee claimed exemption under section 5(1), read with section 5(1A) of the Act. The Tribunal in a number of cases had held that exemption under section 5(1) subject to the limit under section 5(1A) is permissible in respect of ....