TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2014 (5) TMI 1245
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....n over the plaint schedule property, transfers as per the aforesaid documents were only Benami transaction and to the effect that plaintiff is the actual absolute owner and is in lawful possession of the same". There is also a prayer for permanent prohibitory injunction. The market value of the plaint schedule properties was estimated at Rs. 2,10,000/- and for the purpose of court fee, one-half of the market value was assessed at Rs. 1,05,000/-. The court fee for the prayer for declaration was shown as payable under Section 25(b) of the Court Fees Act. The total court fee payable was shown in the plaint as Rs. 9,000/-. The jurisdictional value was shown as Rs. 2,11,000/- for the reliefs of declaration and injunction. 3. Three items of immovable properties are scheduled to the plaint. Item No.1 is admittedly a "nilam" having an extent of 7¾ cents. Item No.2 is described as a portion of "Panoli Kizhakkuveedu Parabu", having an extent of 54 cents. Item No.3 of the plaint schedule is also having the same description as shown in item No.2. The extent of item No.3 is 9.25 cents. 4. The plaintiff is the father of the defendants. According to the plaintiff, Soudamini Amma d....
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.... who was examined in the case, and on the basis of Exts.C1 to C4 sale deeds executed in 2006, the court below held that the market value of the plaint schedule property would be Rs. 25,000/- per cent of land. It was also held by the court below that no fair value was fixed under Section 28A of the Kerala Stamp Act in respect of the property in question and therefore, the market value of the property on the date of filing of the suit should be ascertained with reference to the materials produced in the case. The court below also held that the value shown in Exts.C1 to C4 (25,000/- to 30,000/- per cent) was really as a result of undervaluation and the value of the property would be much more. The respective extent of property covered in Exts.C1 to C4 is less than five cents. 9. Section 25(b) of the Court Fees Act provides that in a suit for declaratory decree or order, whether with or without consequential relief, not falling under Section 26, where the prayer is for a declaration and for consequential injunction and the relief sought is with reference to any immovable property, fee shall be computed on one-half of the market value of the property or on Rs. 1,000/-, whichever is h....
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....(3A), but under sub-section (2) of Section 7 of the Court Fees Act. 11. The term 'agricultural land' is not defined in the Court Fees Act. If it is agricultural land, market value shall be deemed to be ten times the annual gross profits of such land where it is capable of yielding annual profits minus the assessment, if any, made to the Government, as provided in sub-section (2) of Section 7 of the Court Fees Act. Sub-section (3) of Section 7 of the Court Fees Act provides for determining the market value of a building. Section 7 does not give any indication as to whether market value is to be determined under sub-section (3) of Section 7 of the Court Fees Act for an agricultural land in which a residential building is situated. On a combined reading of sub-sections (2) and (3) of Section 7 of the Court Fees Act, the only reasonable construction that could be placed is that in the case of a residential property which is also an agricultural land, determination of market value is to be made under sub-section (2). The expression "gross profits of such land" would include the rental value of the residential building also. Sub-section (3) of Section 7 of the Court Fees Act, ....
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....ich have a situs of their production upon the farm and which are brought into condition for uses of society by labor of those engaged in agricultural pursuits as contradistinguished from manufacturing or other industrial pursuits. That which is the direct result of husbandry and the cultivation of the soil. The product in its natural unmanufactured condition." 14. In Advanced Law Lexicon by P. Ramanatha Aiyar, "agricultural land" is shown to have the following meaning: "Field or soil pertaining to farming or capable for the purpose of agriculture or tilling." The term "agriculture" cannot be defined by the nature of products cultivated, but should be defined rather by the circumstances in which the cultivation is carried on. The mere fact that an industry has some connection with or is in some way dependent on land is not sufficient to bring it within the scope of the term. The term 'agricultural' should be construed in its primary sense as meaning the art or science of cultivating the ground. The expression "land used for agricultural purposes" cannot extend to forests of spontaneous growth, where nothing is done to prepare the soil for trees to be planted therein, and ....
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.... tenure. The expression "tenant" is defined under Section 2(57), which includes a kanam-kuzhikanamdar and a kuzhikanamdar. Kanam-kuzhikanam and kuzhikanam are defined respectively in Sections 2(23) and 2(28) of the Kerala Land Reforms Act. They are in respect of garden lands. The expression "net income" is defined under Section 2(37) of the Kerala Land Reforms Act as follows: ""net income" means income derived from any property after deducting therefrom the cultivation expenses or charges for maintaining fruit trees, timber trees or other useful trees and plants, and taxes and cesses due to the Government or any local authority;" Section 2(11) of the Kerala Land Reforms Act defines "dry land" as a land which is not a nilam, garden, palliyal land or plantation. Garden is defined under Section 2(15) as land used principally for growing coconut trees, are canut trees or pepper vines, or any two or more of the same. "Gross produce" is defined under Section 2(16) of the Kerala Land Reforms Act as follows: "gross produce" in the case of a nilam, means the normal produce of that nilam less the cost of harvesting and, in the case of a garden or dry land, means the norm....
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....neral rule is that court-fee should be fixed on the basis of the averments in the plaint. As matters now stand, there is no definiteness with regard to the income by way of cutting of trees. There are no materials to show that the plaintiffs are getting an income by way of cutting of trees every year. Therefore, the statement in the plaint that the annual gross income of the property is Rs.400/- derived from collecting green manure must be taken to be correct. The Court Fees Act is a fiscal statute. It is a well-known principle that in taxing statutes, if words are possible of more than one interpretation, then effect should be given to that construction which favours the citizen and not the one that imposes a burden on him." 20. When Ammunni Amma v. Ammalu Ammal (1977 K.L.T.285) was decided, the expression "market value of land" was available in sub-section (2) of Section 7 of the Court Fees Act. By Act 6 of 1991, sub-section (2) of Section 7 of the Court Fees Act was amended and the expression "market value of land" was substituted by the expression "market value of agricultural land". To my mind, that would not make much change in considering the question whether a particular....