COMMISSIONER OF WEALTH TAX VS LONDON STAR DIAMOND CO.(L) (PUT.) LTD.
2001 P T D 1126
[243 I T R 7]
[Supreme Court of India]
Present: B. N. Kirpal and S. Rajendra Babu, JJ
COMMISSIONER OF WEALTH TAX
Verses
LONDON STAR DIAMOND CO. (I.) (PVT.) LTD.
C. As. Nos. 4465 to 4467 of 1999, decided on 13/08/1999.
(Appeals by Special Leave from the judgment and order, dated March 27, 1998 of the Bombay High Court in W.T.As. Nos. 1, 2 and 114 of 1998).
Wealth tax‑‑‑
‑‑‑‑Reference‑‑‑Company‑‑‑Net wealth‑‑‑Value of stock‑in‑trade whether to be included in net wealth‑‑‑Question of law‑‑‑Indian Wealth Tax Act, 1957, S.27.
Held, that the question whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in law in holding that the value of the stock‑in‑trade does not require to be included in the net wealth for the purpose of determining the wealth tax liability of the assessee -company, was a question of law.
M.L. Verma, Senior Advocate (S‑K. Dwivedi and Ranbir Chandra, Advocates with him) for Appellant.
Raju Ramachandran, Senior Advocate (Rustom B. Hathikhanwala,
Advocate with him) for Respondent.
JUDGMENT
After hearing learned senior counsel for the parties, in our opinion a question of law does arise. We, therefore, direct the Tribunal to state the case and refer the following question of law to the High Court:
"Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in law in holding that the value of the stock‑in -trade does not require to be included in the net wealth for the purpose of determining the wealth tax liability of the assessee -company?"
The appeals stand disposed of in the aforesaid terms.
M.B.A./429/FC Order accordingly.