TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2010 (2) TMI 635
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....order to avoid the repetition of facts. However, for facilitation, the facts have been extracted from W. T. A. No. 17 of 2008 titled as CIT v. Smt. Neena Jain, C/o M/s. Sweety Fabrics (P) Ltd. 2. The matrix of the facts, culminating in the commencement of, relevant for disposal of the present appeals and emanating from the record, is that during the course of examination of return, for the relevant assessment year 2003-04, it revealed that the assessee has started construction of a residential house on a plot jointly owned by her and her husband, situated at Gurdev Nagar, Ludhiana, in the month of February 2002. The constructions was still incomplete as on the valuation date under consideration. Although the assessee was stated to....
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....h, vide order datedSeptember 18, 2007(annexure A4). 7. The Revenue still did not feel satisfied with the impugned order (annexure A4) and filed the present appeal, invoking the provisions of section 27A of the Act. 8. The appeal was admitted to consider the following substantial questions of law: "(i) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the hon'ble Income-tax Appellate Tribunal is justified in law in dismissing the appeal of the Revenue against the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) order holding that a house under construction neither being a house nor a plot is not liable to tax under the Wealth- tax Act, 1957 ? (ii) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of....
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...., it was ruled that "under such circumstances, such building could not have fallen in the exceptional clause provided in clause (vi)". It was further observed that "if the building under construction was not to be regarded as `building', then the land on which the construction is started will have to be included in the assets under clause (v) because `land' mentioned therein does not carry any qualification or the adjective `vacant.' Even otherwise, land does not lose its value as an asset simply because construction is started thereon and the building does not cease to be a `building' only because it is incomplete in some respect." 12. Sequelly, in Prem Nath Motors Pvt. Ltd.'s case [1999] 238 ITR 414, theDelhiHigh Court observed ....
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....ril, 1993, or any subsequent assessment year, means any building or land appurtenant thereto (hereinafter referred to as "house"), whether used for residential or commercial purposes or for the purpose of maintaining a guest house or otherwise including a farm house situated within twenty-five kilometers from the local limits of any municipality (whether known as Municipality, Municipal Corporation or by any other name) or a Cantonment Board, but does not include-(1) a house meant exclusively for residential purposes and which is allotted by a company to an employee or an officer or a director who is in whole-time employment, having a gross annual salary of less than five lakh rupees ; (2) any house for residential or commercial purposes wh....
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....ial, commercial or guest house, as the case may be, as an incomplete structure cannot be put to any such use. 16. It is not a matter of dispute that the assessee started the construction in the month of February 2002, which was still incomplete at the period of relevant assessment year. 17. The next argument of learned counsel for the Revenue that if the incomplete building does not fall within the ambit of assets under section 2(ea) of the Act, then the incomplete building of the assessee is liable to wealth-tax under the definition of "urban land", again has no force, because Explanation 1(b) defines "urban land" to mean the land situated in any area, which is comprised within the jurisdiction of a municipal corporatio....