TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1981 (12) TMI 24
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....e meaning of section 2(m) of the Act and as such deductible in arriving at the net wealth of the assessee ? It is conceded by counsel for the applicant that the first question is no longer res integra. It is concluded by the decision of the Supreme Court in CWT v. P. N. Sikand [1977] 107 ITR 922. In accordance with the said decision, the first question has to be answered in the affirmative and in favour of the assessees. This would mean that 50 per cent. of the unearned increase in the value of the land would be diverted to the lessor before it reached the hands of the assessees as part of the price. In these circumstances, question No. 2 does not arise. In the case of Smt. Savitri Devi a further question has been raised pertaining to gold ornaments and silver utensils. The value of the gold ornaments and silver utensils possessed by her during the relevant assessment years is as follows: Asst. Year Value of gold Value of silver ornaments (Rs.) utensils (Rs.) 1964-65 &nbs....
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....ii) before it was amended by the Finance (No. 2) Act of 1971 was as under : " 5. (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (1A), wealth-tax shall not be payable by an assessee in respect of the following assets, and such assets shall not be included in the net wealth of the assessee-... (viii) furniture, household utensils, wearing apparel, provisions and other articles intended for the personal or household use of the assessee. " By the Finance (No.2) Act of 1971, the following words were added after the existing cl. (viii) : " but not including jewellery" These words though inserted by the said Act of 1971 were to take effect retrospectively from 1st April, 1963. Two provisos and Explanations were also added to this sub-clause but with prospective effect, that is, as from 1st April, 1972. The pertinent proviso and Explanation are set out: " Provided that the furniture, utensils or other articles are neither made wholly or partly of, nor contain (whether by way of embedding, covering or otherwise), gold, silver, platinum or any other precious metal or any alloy containing one or more of such precious metals: Explanation 1.-For the purposes of this clause an....
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....ork; gems or ornaments made or sold by jewellers; jewels collectively, or as a form of adornment." The word " jewel " has also been defined in the said dictionary at the same page, which reads as: " 1. -An article of value used for adornment, use of the person; a costly ornament esp. one made of gold, silver, or precious stones. " The Words and Phrases, Permanent Edn., Vol. 23, at p. 34, also contains an interesting passage, which is as follows : The, word 'jewellery' is generally used as including articles of personal adornment, and the word imports that the articles are of value in the community where they are used. A belt of cowry shells, a necklace of bears' claws, a head ornament of sharks' teeth, though possessing no value in themselves, are esteemed valuable in the communities where they are worn; and we, therefore, constantly find them referred to in books written in the English language-... It would appear to us that the word " jewellery " in common parlance especially in India would certainly include ornaments for personal adornment that are made from gold irrespective of whether they are studded with precious stones or not. When an Indian girl talks of her je....
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.... that as the word " jewellery " was not defined retrospectively it would not take into its ambit gold ornaments which did not contain precious or semi-precious stones. In CWT v. Aditya Vikram Birla [1978] 114 ITR 711, the Calcutta High Court has followed the abovementioned decision of the Orissa High Court and dissented from the decision in Jayantilal Amratlal [1976] 102 ITR 105 of the Gujarat High Court. The Calcutta High Court has held that the dictionary meaning of the word " jewellery " is not so wide or clear as to bring in all valuable ornaments within its fold. According to it, in popular parlance, the word " jewellery " connotes use of stones, precious, semi-precious or even imitation in the ornaments concerned. Furthermore, in considering this word it would not be safe to go only by the original or modern English meaning. The use of ornaments and jewellery in our country and the specific connotation of various types of jewellery in use in the country and described in various local languages has to be considered. In Hindustani and Bengali at least a clear distinction has been made between ornaments which are made of gold or silver or ornaments which are set with stones. ....