 the wealth-tax bill, 1957(as introduced in l« sabha)  arrangement of claus chapl'er i priuuilfailyclauildil , 1 short title, extent and eommeneement 2 definitions  c!!api'er ii charge of wiial'l'h-tax and aiisftii su1ijzct to va •• _3 charge of wealth-tax 4 net wealth to include certain assets 5 exemptions in respect of certain assets 6 exclusion of assets and debts outside india 7 value of assets, how to be determined  chapter iii wealth-tax authoiiitmb8 wealth-tax officers 9 appellate assistant commissioners o! wealth-tax 10 commissioners of wealth-tax u inspecting assistant commissioners of wealth-tax 12 wealth-tax officers to be subordinate to the commwsioll1r el wealth-tax and the inspecting assistant commillioner 01 wealth-tax 13 wealth-tax authorities to follow orders, etc of the board  chapter iv14 return of wealth 15 return after due date and amendment of a'tura 16 assessment 17 wealth escapine' assessment 18 penalty for concealment  chapl'er v liuillty to assessment in spbclal cases ouuas 18 tax of deceased person payable by legal representative20 assessment after partition of a hindu undivided family ~1 assessment when assets are held by courts of wards, admini5' trators-general, etc 2! assessment of persons not resident in india  chapter vi appeals, revisions and references23 appeal to the appellate assistant commissioner from orders of wealth-tax officers 24 appeal to the appellate tribunal from orders of the appellate assistant commissioners 25 power of commissioner to revise orderl of wealth-tax oftlcers in the interests of revenue from orders of enhance- 26 appeal to;t th· ppellate tribunal ment by co ssioners 27 reference to-- igh court 28 hearing by high court 29 appeal to supreme court    chapter vii payment and recovery of wealth-tax30 notice of demand 31 recovery of tax and penalties 32 mode of recovery 33 liability of transferees of properties from assessees in certain cases 34 restrictjons on registration of transfers of immovable property in certain cases  chapter viti miscellanjious35 rectification' of mistakes 36 prosecutions 37 power to take evidence on oath, etc 3& information returns and statements 39 effect ot transfer of authorities on pendinlprocmdin  10 computation of perioda of limitation 41 service of notice 42 prohibition of disclolure of information 43 bar of jurisdiction 44 appearance before wealth-tax· authorities by authoriled representativet 45 act not te apply in certain cases 46 power to make rules the schedule  the w~alth-tax bill, 1957 (as introduced in lok sabha) a billto prot)ide for the let)y of wealth-tax  chapter iplmliminary 1 (1) this act may be called the wealth-tax act, 1957 (z) it extends to the whole of india short title atent idd commencement (3) it shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of  april, 1957 5 z in this act, unless the co1'ftext otherwise requires,-definition& (a) 'adviser' means a person appointed by the central government to exercise the functions of an adviser under subsection (10) of section 24; (b) 'appellate assistant commissioner' means a person ie empowered to exercise the functions of an appellate assistant commissioner of wealth-tax under section 9; (c) 'appellate tribunal' means the appellate tribunal appointed under section 5a of the income-tax act; (d) 'assessee' means a person by whom wealth-tax or any is other sum of money is payable under this act, and includes every person in respect of whom any proceeding under this act has been taken for the assessment of the value of his assets; (e) 'assessment year' means the year for which tax is chargeable under c;ection 3; i , (f) 'assets' includes property of every description, movablt! or immovable, but does not include-(i) agricultural land and growing crops, grass or standina trees on such land; (ii) any building owned or occupied by a cultivator or s receiver of rent or revenue out of agricultural land: provided that the building is on or in the immediate vicinity of the land and is a building which the cultivator or the receiver of rent or revenue by reason of his connection with the land requires as a dwelling-house or a store-houlie 10 or an out-house; (iii) live-stock, tools and implements needed for the raising of agricultural produce; (iv) the right to any annuity or any interest in property where such annuity or interest is available to an assessee for is a period not exceeding five years; (g) 'board' means the central board of revenue constituted under the central board of revenue act, 1924;  of 1~2+ (h) 'commissioner' means a person empowered to exercise the functions of a commissioner of wealth-tax under section 10; 20 (i) 'company' means a company as defined in section 3 of th~ companies act, 1956, and includes a foreign company within tht! i of ip,," meaning of section 591 of that act; (j) 'executor' means an eiecutor or administrator of the estate of a deceased person; :as (k) 'income-tax act' means the indian income-tax act, 1922; ii of 19u, (1) 'income-tax officer' means a person appointed to be an income-tax officer under the income-tax act; (m) 'inspecting assistant commissioner of wealth-tax' means a person empowered to be an inspecting assistant com- 30 missioner of wealth-tax under section 11; (n) 'net wealth' means the amount by which the aggregate value computed in accordance with the provisions vf this act of all the assets, wherev~r located, belonging· to the assessee on the valuation date, including assets required to be included in 35 his net wealth as on that date under this act, is in excess of the aggregate value of all the debts owed by the assessee on the valuation date other than debts which under section 6 are not to be taken into account; (0) 'prescribed' means prescribed by rules made under this act; \ (p) 'principal officer', used with reference to a company, means the secretary, manager, managing agent 6r managing s director of the company, and includes any person connected with the management of the affairs of the company upon whom the wealth-tax officer has served a notice of his intention of treating him as the principal officer thereof; (q) 'valuation date', in relation to any year fer which an 10 assessment is to be made under this act, means the last day of the previous year as defined in clause (11) of section 2 of the income-tax act if an assessment were to be made under that act for that year: is provided that where in the case of an assessee there are different previous years under the income-tax act for different sources of income, the valuation date for the purposes of this act shall be the last day of the previous year immediately preceding the year for which the assessment is to be made; 54 of 1953 (r) 'valuer' means a valuer appointed under section 4 of the estate duty act, 1953; \ 20 (8) 'wealth-tax officer' means the income-tax officer authorised to perform the functions of a wealth-tax officer under section 8 chapter ii  205 charge of wealth-tax and assets subject to such charge3 subject to the other provisions contained in this act, there ~_~ shall be charged for every financial year commencing on and from the first day of april, 1957, a tax (hereinafter referred to as wealthtax) in respect of the net wealth on the corresponding valuation 30 date of every individual, hindu undivided family and company at the rate or rates specified in the schedule , (1) in computing the net wealth of an individual, there shall ne~ wealth - to mclude be included,-certain (a) the value of assets which on the valuation date are assets 305 held-(i) by his wife to whom such assets have been transferred by the individual, directly or indirectly, otherwise than for adequate consideration or in connection with an agreement to live separately, or 40 (ii) by a minor child not being a married daughter to whom such assets have been transferred by the individual otherwise than for adequate consideration, or (iii) by a person or association of persona to whom such assets have been transferred by the individual otherwise than for adequate consideration for the beneftt of the individual or his wife or minor child, or (iv) by a person or association of persons to whom such s assets have been transferred by the individual otherwise than under an irrevocable transfer; (b) where the assessee is a partner in a firm or a member of an association of individuals, the value of his interest in the assets of the firm or association determined in the prescribed 10 manner (2) where the value of any assets is to be included in the net wealth of an assessee in accordance with clause (<<) of sub-section (1), there shall be deducted from such value any debts owing on the valuation date by the transferee mentioned in that sub-section in is so far as such debts are referable to the assets 5 wealth-tax shall not be payable by an assessee in respect of-exemption in reapect of certainuscts (i) any property held by him under trust or other legal obligation for religious or charitable purposes within india; (ii) the interest of the assessee in the coparcenary property 20 of any hindu undivided family of which he is a member; (iii) any works of art, archeological, scientific or art collections, books, manuscripts or heirlooms belonging to the assessee and not intended for sale; (iv) the right of the assessee to receive a pension or other as life annuity in respect of past service under an employer; (v) the rights under any' pa~nt or copyright belonging to the assessee: provided that they are not held by him as assets of a business, profession or vocation and no income or benefit accrues 30 to him therefrom; (vi) domestic animals and furniture, household utensils, wearing apparel, jewellery, provisions and other articles intended for the personal or household use of the assessee, subject to a maximum of twenty-five thousand rupees in value; 3s (vii) the right or interest of the assessee in any policy of insurance before the moneys covered by the policies actually become due and payable to the assessee; (viii) the tools and instruments necessary to enable the assessee to carryon his profession or vocation, subject to a 40 maximum of two thousand pod dve hundred rupees in value; (ix) ten year treasury savings deposit certificates, fifteen year annuity certificates, deposits in post office savings banks, post ofbce caab certificates and post office national savings certificates held by the assessee; s (x) any deposit made by the assessee with the government or in any security of the government or of a local authority dot specified in clause (ix) which the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, exempt from wealth-tax: provided that the valu~ of any deposit or security so 10 exetl\pted shall be included in computing the net wealth of an assessee; 19 of 1925 is (xi) the amount standing to the credit of an assessee, being a salaried employee, in any provident fund maintained by his employer to whioh the provident funds act, 1925, applies or which is a recognised provident fund within the meaning of chapter ixa of the income-tax act; (xii) the property received by an assessee from governmel'lt in pursuance of any gallantry award instituted or approved by the central government 20 6 in computing the net wealth of an individual who is not a bxcluaienf citizen of india on the valuation date, or of a hindu undivided family, d!be: :t~ or company not resident in india during the year ending on the side lnala valuation date, the value of the assets and debts located outside india shall not be taken into account 25 explanation i-a hindu undivided family shall be deemed to be resident in india during the year ending on the valuation date in all cases except where the control and management of its affairs during that year is situated wholly without india explanation ii-a company shall be deemed to be resident in 30 india during the year ending on the valuation date if during that year the control and management of its affairs is situated wholly in india 7 (1) the value of any asset, other than cash, for the purposes valueof of this act shall be estimated to be the price which in the opinion:i:' j:w 3' of the wealth-tax officer it would fetch if sold in the open market tezmine4 on the valuation date - (2) notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) ,- 40·(a) where the assessee is carrying on a business for which accounts are maintained by him regularly, the wealth-tax officer may, instead of determining separately the value of each asset held by the assessee in such business, determine  the net value of the assets of the business as a whole having regard to the balance-sheet of such business as on the valuation date and making such adjustments therein as the circumstances of the case may require; (b) where the assessee carrying on the business is a s company not resident in india and a computation in accordance with clause (a) c:annot be made by reason of the absence of any separate balance-sheet drawn up for the affairs of such business in india, the wealth-tax officer may take the net value of the assets of the business in india to be that' proportion of the net 10 value of the assets of the business as a whole wherever carried on determined as aforesaid as the income arising from the business in india during the year ending with the valuation date bears to the aggregate income from the business wherever is arising during that year chapter iii wealth-tax authorities s every income-tax officer having jurisdiction or exercising powers as such under the income-tax act in respect of any individual, zo hindu undivided family or company shall perform the functions of a wealth-tax officer under this act in respect of such individual, hindu undivided family or company ' 9 the board may empower as many persons as it thinks fit to exercise under this act the functions of an appellate assistant 25 commissioner of wealth-tax, and on being so empowered the appellate assistant commissioners shall perform their functions in respect of such areas or such classes of persons as the board may direct, and where such directions have assigned to two or more appellate assistant commissioners the same area or the same classes of persons they shall perform their functions in accordance with 30 such orders as the board may make for the distribution and allocation of the werk to be performed 10 the board may empower as many persons as it thinks fit to exercise under this act the functions of a commissioner of wealthtax, and on being so empowered the commissioners of wealth-tax 35 shall perform their functions in respect of such areas or such classes of persoils as the board may direct, and where such directions have assigned to two or more commissioners the same area or the same classes of' persons they shall have- concurreat jurisdiction subject to such oiders, if any, as the board may make for 'the distribution and 40 allocation of the work to be performed " 11 the commissioner of wealth-tax may empower as many  persons as he thinks fit to exercise under this act the' functions of an inspecting assistarit comm,issloner of wealth-tax, 'ahd on- being so empowered the inspecting assistant commissioners of wealth-~ax 45 shall perform their functions in respect of such areas or such classes of persons 81 the commissioner may direct, and where suah directions have assigned to two or more inspecting assistant commissioners the same area or the same classes of persons they shall perform their functions in accordance with such orders as the commissioner s may make for the distribution and allocation of the work to be performed 12 the wealth-tax officers shall be subordinate to the com- wealth-tax missioner of wealth-tax and the inspecting assistant commissioner ~~ of wealth-tax within whose jurisdiction they perform their functions ~!i~he lioner of wealth-tax aad the id!" pcc:ting ai-liltlnt com misaioner of wealth tax jc 13 all officers and other persons employed in this act shall observe and follow the orders, directions of the board: the execution of wealth-tax  t t' :j authorities ids ruc ions ana to follow ordera, etc of the provided that no orders, instructions or directions shall be given board by the board so as to interfere with the discretion of the appellate is assistant commissioner of wealth-tax in the exercise of his appellate functions  chapter ivassessment 't  14 (1) every person whose nelt wealth on the valuation date was ltetum en 20 of such an amount as to render him liable to wealth-tax under this wealth act shall, before, the thirtieth day of june of the corresponding assessment year, furnish to the wealth-tax officer a return in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner settins forth his net wealth as on that valuation date: ' 25 provided that for the assessment year commencing pn the first day of april, 1957, the return may be made at any time before the thirty-first day of december, 1957 (2) if the wealth-tax officer is satisfied that the net wealth of any person is of such an amount as to render him liable to wealth-30 tax: ~der this act, then, notwithstanding anything contained in su1>-section (1), he rnay serve a notice upon such  person requiring him to furnish within such period, not being less than thirty days, as may be specified in the notice, a return in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner and setting forth such other 35 particulars as may be required in the notice, the net wealth of such person as on the valuation date mentioned in the notice (9) the wealth-tax officer may, if he is satisfied that it 1& necefsary so to do, extend the date for the delivery of the return under this section rctura aftet clue dltte and amen4-mentof return 15 if any person has not furnished a return within the time allowed under section 14, or having furnished a return under that ~ section discovers any omission or a wrong statement therein, he ma, furnish a return or a revised return, as the case may be, at any time before the assessment is made aiseaaeat 16 (1) if the wealth-tax officer is satisfied without requiring the presence of the assessee or production by him of any evidence that ic a return made under section 14 is complete, he shall assess the ne; wealth of the assessee and determine the amount payable by him as wealth-tax (2) if the wealth-tax officer is not so satisfied, he shall serve a notice on the assessee either to attend in person at his office on a is date to be specified in the notice or to produce or cause to be produced on that date any evidence on which the assessee may rely in support of his return (3) the wealth-tax officer, after hearing such evidence as the person may produce and such other evidence as he may require on 20 any specified points shall, by order in writing, assess the net wealth of the assessee and determine the amount payable by him as wealthtax (4) for the purpose of making an assessment under this act the' wealth-tax officer may serve on any person, whether he has made a 2s return or not, a notice requiring him to produce or cause to be preduced on a date specified in the notice such accounts, records or ether documents as the wealth-tax officer may require (5) if any person fails to make a return in response to any noti(:e under sub-section (2) gf section 14, or fails to comply with the terms 3c of any notice issued under sub-section (2) or sub-section (4), the wpj;>lth-tax officer shall make the assessment to the best of his judgment and determine the amount payable by the person as wealth-tax on the basis of such assessment  17 if the wealth-tax officer-yeajta --r aslolllfte8t (a) has reason to believe that by reason of the omission or failure on the part of the assessee to make a return of his ,n::t wealth under section 14 for any assessment year or to disclose fully and truly all material facts necessary for his assessment for that year, the net wealth chargeable to tax has eeeaped <40 assessment for that year, whether by reason of under-assessmeat er aasesrment at too iowa rate or otherwise; or (b) has, in consequence of any information in his possession, reason to believe, notwithstanding that there has been no such omiiision or failure as is referred to in clause (a), that the net wealth chargeable to tax has escaped assessment for any year, s whether by reason of under-assessment or assessment at too iowa rate or otherwise; he may, in cases falling under clause (a) at any time, and in cases falling under clause (b) at any time within six years of the end of that assessment year, serve on the assessee a notice containing ull 10 or any of the requirements which may be included in a notice under sub-section (2) of section 14, and may proceed to assess or re-assess such net wealth, and the provisions of this act shall, so far as may be, apply as if the notice had issued under that sub-section 18 (1) if the wealth-tax officer is satisfied that any person-pciiilty for conclelllmeui 15 (a) has without reasonable cause failed to furnish the return of his net wealth which he is required to furnish under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 14 or section 17 or has without reasonable cause failed to furnish it within the time allowed and in the manner required; or 20 (b) has without reasonable cause failed to comply with a notice under sub-section (2) or sub-section (4) of section 16; or (c) has concealed the particulars of his assets or deliberately furnished inaccurate particulars of his assets or debts; he may, by order in writing, direct that such person shall pay by way 2, of penalty-(i) in the case referred to in clause (a), in addition to the amount of wealth-tax payable by him, a sum not exceeding oneand-a-half times the amount of such tax, and (ii) in the case referred to in clause (b) or clause (c), in addi-30 tion to the amount of wealth-tax payable by him, a sum not exceeding one-and-a-half times the amount of the tax, if any, which would have been avoided if the net wealth:returned by such person had been accepted as correct (2) no order shall be made under sub-section (1) unless the persen 35 concerned has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard (3) no prosecution for an offence under this act shall be instituted in respect of the same facts in relation to which a penalty has been imposed under this section (4) the wealth-tax officer shall not impose any penalty under 40 this section without the previous approval of the inspecting assistant commissioner of wealth-tax  chapl'er v liability to assessment in special casestu of dec:eucd penon payable by lepl rcpreaentatift 19 (1) where a person dies, his executor, administrator or other legal representative shall be liable to payout of the estate of the deceased person, to the extent to which the estate is capable of meet- 5 ing the charge, the wealth-tax assessed as payable by such person, or any tax which would have been payable by him under this act if he had not died (2) where a person dies without having furnished a return under the provisions of section 14 or after having fumished a return which 10 the wealth-tax officer has reason to believe to be incorrect or incomplete, the wealth-tax officer may make an assessment of the net wealth of such person and determine the wealth-tax payable by the person on the basis of such assessment, and for this purpose may, by the issue of the appropriate notice which would have had is to be served upon the deceased person if he had survived, require from the executor, administrator or other legal representative of the deceased person any accounts, documents or other evidence which might under the provisions of section 16 have been required from the deceased person (3) the provisions of section 15 shall apply to an executor, administrator or other legal representative as they apply to any person referred to in that section asieildlcdt after partition of a hindu undivided family zo (1) where, at thb time' of making an assessment, it is brought to the notice of the wealth-tax officer that a partition has taken as place among the members of a hindu undivided family, and the wealth-tax officer, after inquiry, is satisfied that such partition has taken place, he shall make assessments on the net wealth of the undivided family as such for the assessment year or years including the year relevant to the previous year if the partition has taken place on 30 the last day of the pr~vious year, and each member or group of members shail be liable jointly and severally for the tax assessed on the net wealth of the joint family as such (2) where the weath-tax· officer is not so satisfied, he may, by order, declare that such family shall be deemed for the purposes 35 of this act to continue to be a hindu undivided family liable to be assessed as such  alleument 21 (1) in the case of assets chargeable to tax under this act :e~jdb'; which are held by a court· of wards or an administrator-general = ~_ or an official trustee or any receiver or manager or any other person, 40 m!'!~ton by whatever name called, appointed under any order of a court to 1_- etc  manaie property on behalt of another, or any trustee appointn under a trust declared by a duly executed instrument in writing, whether testamentary or otherwise (including a trustee und~r a valid deed of wakf), the wealth-tax shall be levied upon and recoverable from the court of wards, administrator-general, oftlcial s trustee, receiver, manager or trustee, as the case may be, in the like manner and to the same extent as it would be leviable upon and recoverable from the person on whose behalf the assem are held, and the provisions of this act shall apply accordingly , (2) nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall prevent either the 10 direct assessment of the person on whose behalf the assets above referred to are held, or the recovery from such person of the tax payable in respect of such assets (3) where the guardian or trustee of any person being a minor, lunatic or idiot (all of which persons are hereinafter in this sub-15 section included in the term 'beneficiary') holds any assets on behalf at such beneficiary, the tax under this act shall be levied upon and recoverable from such guardian or trustee, as the case may be, in the like manner and to the same extent as it would be leviable upon and recoverable from any such beneficiary if of full age or sound :jo mind arid in direct ownership of such assets (4) notwithstanding anything contained in this section, where the shares of the persons on whose behalf any such assets are held are indeterminate or unknown, the wealth-tax may be levied upon and recovered from the court of wards, administrator-general, official 25 trustee, receiver, manag~r or other person aforesaid as if the persons on whose behalf the assets are held were an individual for the purposes of this act 22 (1) where the person liable to tax under this act is not aalel8llw1t resident in india, the tax may be levied upon and recovered from ~ r!ir: 30 his agent, and the agent shall be deemed to be, for all the purposes in india of this act, the assessee in respect of such tax (2) any person employed by or on behalf of a person referred to in sub-section (1) or through whom such person is in the receipt of any income, profits or gains, or who is in possession or has 35 custody of any asset of such person and upon whom the wealth-tax officer has caused a notice to be served of his intention of treating him as the agent of such person shall, for the purposes of sub-section (1), be deemed to be the agent of such person· provided that no person shall be deemed to be the agent of 40 another under this section unless he has had an opportunity of being heard by the wealth-tax officer as to his being treated as such  chapter viappeal to the appellate allistant commillioner frqul onlcn of wea1thtax ofticcn appeals, revisions and references 23 (1) any person,-(a) objecting to the amount of his net wealth determined under this act; or 5 (b) objecting to the amount of wealth-tax determined as payable by him under this act; or (c) denying his liability to be assessed under this act; or (d) objecting to any penalty imposed by the wealth-tax officer under section 18; or 10 (e) objecting to any order of the wealth-tax officer under sub-section (2) of section 20; may appeal to the appellate assistant commissioner against the assessment or order, as the case may be, in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner 15 (2) an appeal shall be presented within thirty days of the receipt of the notice of demand relating to the assessment or penalty objected to, or the date on which any order objected to, is communicated to him, but the appellate assistant comm:ssiojler may admit an appeal after the exp:ration of the period aforesaid if he 20 is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not presenting the appeal within that period (3) the appellate assistant commissioner shall fix a day and place for the hearing of the appeal and may from time to time adjourn the hearing  \ 25 (4) the appellate assistant commissioner may, before disposing ~f any appeal, make such further inquiry as he thinks fit or cause further inquiry to be made by the wealth-tax officer (5) any order passed by the appellate assistant commissioner on appeal may include an order enhancing the assessment or 30 penalty: provided that no order enhancing the assessment or penalty shall be made unless the person affected thereby has been given· a reasonable opportunity of showing callie against such enhancement (6) a copy of every order passed by the appellate assistaat 3' commissioner under this section shall be forwarded to the appellant and the commissioner   -\i'peal to z4 (1) any assessee ebjecting to an order passed by an appellate ~ri~ assistant commissioner under section 23 may appeal to the appellate from orders tribunal within sixty days of the date on which he is served with 40 of the appellate notice of such order asliatarlt commiteieoen (2) the commissioner may, if he is not satisfied as to the correctness of any order passed by an appellate assistant commissioner under section 23, direct the wealth-tax officer to appeal to the appellate tribunal against such order, and such appeal may 5 be made at any time before the expiry of sixty days of the date on which the order is communicated to the commissioner (3) an appeal to the appellate tribunal shall be in the prescribed form and shall be varified in the prescribed manner and shall, except in the case of an appeal referred to in sub-section (2), be accompanied 10 by a fee of one hundred rupees (4) the appellate tribunal may, after giving both parties to the appeal an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders thereon as it thinks fit, and any such orders may include an order enhancing the assessment or penalty: 15 provided that no order enhancing an assessment or penalty shall be made unless the person affected thereby has been given a reasonable opportunity of showing cause against such enhancement (5) where the appellant objects to the valuation of any immovable property, the appellate tribunal may, and if the appellant so 20 requires shall, refer the question of disputed value to the arbitration of a committee consisting of a valuer and an adviser appointed by the board in this behalf, and the tribunal shall, so far as that question is concerned, pass its orders under sub-section (4) cod-formably to the decision of the committee: 25 provided that if there is a difference of opinion between the two members of the committee of arbitration, the matter shall be referred by the tribunal to another valuer appointed by the board and the \ decision of that valuer on the question of valuation shall be final (6) the costs of any arbitration proceeding under sub-section (5) 30 shall be borne by the central government or the assessee, as the case may be, at whose instance the question was referred to the committee: provided that where the assessee has been wholly or, partially successful in any reference made at his instance, the extent to which 35 the costs should be borne by the assessee shall be at the discretion of the appellate tribunal (7) a copy of every order passed by the appellate tribuna1 under this section shall be forwarded to the assessee and the commissioner <40 (8) save as provided in section 27, any order passed by the appellate tribunal on appeal shall be final (9) the provisions of sub-sections (5), (7) and (8) of section 5a of the income-tax act shall apply to the appellate tribunal in the discharge of its functions under this act as they apply to it in the discharge of its functions under the income-tax act (10) for the purposes of this section the central government 5 shall draw up for every such area as may be prescri~ed a list of persons familiar with property values in that area, and any of these persons may be appointed to exercise the functions of an adviser under this section in relation to the area for which he is appointed power of 25 (1) the commissioner may call for and examine the record 10 ~m:u:~ r of any proceeding under this act and, if he considers that any order ~w~~~ passed therein by a wealth-tax officer is erroneous in so far as it ~ ~cen is prejudicial to the interests of revenue, he may, after giving the :!::~ ~-assessee an opportunity of being heard and after making or causing revcdue:~ to be made such inquiry as he deems necessary, pass such orders is thereon as the circumstances of the case justify, including an order enhancing or modifying the assessment or cancelling it, and directing a fresh assessment (2) no order shall be made under sub-section (1) after the expiry of two years from the date of the order sought to be revised 20 (3) if in the course of any proceedings under this section a question arises as to the valuation of any immovable property, the commissioner may, and if the assessee so requires shall, before passing any order under this section, refer the question of such valuation to the arbitration of a committee consisting of a valuer 25  and an adviser appointed by the board in this behalf, and the commissioner shall, so far as that question is concerned, pass his order under this section conformably to the decision of the committee (4) the provisions of sub-sections (5), (6) and (8~ of section 24 shall apply in relation to any such reference as they apply in rela- 30 tlon io any reference made by the appellate tribunal under thai tection appel \"0 26 (1) any assessee objecting to an order of enhancement made ri~ by the commissioner under section 25 may appeal to the appellate from orden tribunal within sixty days of the date on which the order is com- 35 of· ~  t d h' mcot by munlca e to 1m ~=-(2) an appeal to the appellate tribunal under suo-section (1) shall be in the prescribed fonn and shall be verified in the prescribed manner and shall be accompanied by a fee of rupees one hundred (3) the tribunal may, 'after giving the appellant an opportunity 40 ~ being heard, pass such order thereon as it thinks fit, and shall communicate any such order to the assessee and to the commissioner 27 (1) within nmety days of the date upon which he is served reference with an order under section 24 or section 26, the  assessee may ~~ present an application in the prescribed form accompanied by a fee of one hundred rupees to the appellate tribunal requiring the s appellate tribunal to refer to the high court any question of law arifling out of such order, and the appellate tribunal shall, if in its opinion a question of law arises out of such order, state the case for the opinion of the high court (2) an application under sub-section (1) may be admitted after 10 the expiry of the period of ninety days aforesaid if the tribunal is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not presenting it within the said period (3) if, on an application made under sub-section (1), the appellate tribunal,-is (a) refuses to state a case on the ground that no question of law arises; or \ (b) rejects it on the ground that it is time barred; the applicant may, within three months from the date on which he is served with a notice of refusal or rejection,as the case may 20 be, apply to the high court, and the high court may, if it is not satisfied with the correctness of the decision of the appellate tribunal, require the appellate tribunal to state the case to the high court, and on receipt of such requisition the appellate tribunal shall state the case: as provided that, if in any case where the appellate tribunal has been required by an applicant to state a case the appellate tribunal refuses to do so on the ground that no question of law arises, the applicant may, within thirty days from the date on which he receives notice of refusal to state the case, withdraw his application, and if 30 he does so, the fee paid by him under sub-section (1) shall be refunded to him (4) the statement to the high court shall set forth the facts, the determina~ion of the appellate tribunal and the question of law which arises out of the case 35 (5) if the high court is not satisfied that the case as stated is sufficient to enable it to determine the question of law raised thereby, it may require the arpellate tribunal to make such modification therein as it may direct (6) the high court, upon hearing any such case, shall decide 40 the question of law raised therein, and in doing so, may, if it think fit, alter the form of the question of law and shall deliver judgment thereon containing the ground on which such decision is founded and shall send a copy of the judgment under the seal of the court and the signature of the registrar to the appellate tribunal and the appellate tribunal shall pass such orders as are necessary to dispose ot the case conformably to such judgment  (7) the costs' of any reference to the high court shall be in the discretion of the court s (8) section 5 of the indian limitation act, 1908, shall apply to 9 of 1901 an application to the high court undel' this section ~~by 28 when a case has been stated to the high court under section 27, i&h un it shall be heard by a bench of not less than two judges of the high court and shall be decided in accordance with the opinion of 10 such judges or of the majority of sueh judges, if any: provided that where thete is no such majority, the judges shall state the point of law upon which they differ and the case shall then be heard upon that point only by one or more of the judges of the high court, and such point shall be decided according to the is opinion of the majority of the judges who have heard the case, including those who first heard it 29 (1) an appeal shall lie to the supreme court from any judg-appeal to supreme court •• ~ent of the high court delivered on a case stated under section 27 in any case which the high court certifies as a fit case for appeal :ao to the supreme court (2) where the judgment of the high court is varied or reversed on appeal under this sectior, effect shall be given to the order of the supreme court in the manner provi~ed in sub-section (6) of ~~~ ~ (3) the high court may, on application made to it for the exe cution of any order of the supreme court in respect of any costs awarded by it, transmit the order for execution to any court subordinate to the high court  chapter vii30  payment and recovery of wealth-taxnotice of demand 30 when any tax or penalty is due in consequence of any order passed under thir act, the wealth-tax officer shall serve upon the assessee or other person liable to pay such tax or penalty a notice of demand in the prescribed form specifying the sum so payable 3s and the time witnin which it shall be payable reco9ery of' 31 (1) any amount specifiied as payable in a notice of demand biz me! issued under section 30 shall be paid within the time, at the place, pcmaltica and to the person mentioned in the notice, or if no time is so mentioned, then on or before the first day of the second month following 40 the date of service of the notice, and any assessee failing so to pay shall be deemed to be in default (2) where an asses~ee has been assessed in respect of assets located in a country outside india, the laws of which prohibit or 5 restrict the remittance of money to india, the wealth-tax officer shall not treat the assessee as in default in respect of that part of the tax which is attributable to the assets in that country, and shall continue to treat the assessee as not in default in respect of that part of the tax until the prohibition or restriction of remittance is 10 removed (3) notwithstanding anything contained in this section, where an assessee has presented an appeal under section 23, the wealth-tax officer may in his discretion treat the assessee as not being in default as long as such appeal is undisposed of is 32 the provisions of sub-sections (1), (la), (2), (3), (4), (5), mode of (sa), (6) and (7) of section 46 of the income-tax act shall apply "s if recovery the said provisions were provisions of this act and referred to wealth-tax instead of to income-tax, and to wealth-tax officer and commissioner of wealth-tax instead of to income-tax officer and 20 commissioner of income-tax 33 (1) where by reason of the provisions contained in section 4, liability of  transterees the value of any assets transferred to any of the persons mentioned of properin that section have to be included in the net wealth of an individual, ties ftom assessccs m the person in whose name such assets stand shall, notwithstanding certain c81e1 25 anything contained in any law to the contrary, be liable, on· the service of a notice of demand by the wealth-tax officer in this behalf, to pay that portion of the tax assessed on the assesse~ as is attributable to the value of the asset standing in his name as aforesaid: provided that where any such asset is held jointly by more than 30 one person, they shall be jointly and severally liable to pay the tax as is attributable to the value of the asset so jointly held (2) where any such person as is referred to in sub-section (1) defaults in making payment of any tax demanded from him, he shall be deemed to be an assessee in default in respect of such sum, and 3s all the provisions of this act relating to recovery shall apply accordingly 3'- where any document required to be registered under the restrictions provisions of clause (a), clause (b), clause (c) or clause (e) of sub- ti~nre:stra­section (1) of section 17 of the indian registration act, 1908, pur- transfers of   h h  h  1 immovable 40 ports to transfer, assign, limit or extmguls t e rig t, tit e or prop~rty in interest of any person to or in any property other than agricultural certaid <:aiel land valued at more than one lakh of rupees, no registering officer appointed under that act shall register any such document, unless the wealth-tax officer certifies that-(a) such person has either paid or made satisfactory provision for the payment of all existing or anticipated liabilities under this act, or s (b) the registration of the document will not prejudicially affect the recovery of any existing or anticipated liability under this act chapter viii  miscellaneous' 10rectification of mistakes 35 at any time within four years from the date of any order passed by him, or it, the commissioner, the wealth-tax officer, the appellate assistant commissioner and the appellate tribunal may, on his, or its, own motion rectify any mistake apparent from the record and shall, within a like period, rectify any such mistake which 15 has been brought to the notice of the commissioner, the wealth-tax officer, the appellate assistant commissioner or the appellate tribunal, as the case may be, by an assessee: provided that no such rectification shall be made which has the effect of enhancing the assessment unless the assessee has been 20 given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter prosecuuoiii 36 (1) if a person fails without reasonable cause,-(a) to furnish in due time any return mentioned in section 14; (b) to produce, or cause to be produced, on or before the date 25 mentioned in any notice under sub-section (2) or sub-section (4) of section 16 such accounts, records and documents as are referred to in the notice; he shall, on conviction before a magistrate be punishable with fine which may extend to ten rupees for every day during which the 30 default continues (2) if a person makes a statement in a verification mentioned in section 14 or section 17 or section 20 or section 24 which is false, and which he either knows or believes to be false, or does not believe to be true,' he shall be punishable with simple imprisonment which 3s may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both (3) a person shall not be proceeded against for an offence under this section except at the instance of the commissioner (4)  the commissioner may either before or after the institution 40 of proceedings compound any such offence ezplanation-for the purposes of this section, 'magistrate' means a presidency magistrate, a magistrate of the first class or a magistrate of the second class specially empowered by the central government to try offences under this act , 37 the commissioner, the wealth-tax officer, the appellate assist- power to ant commissioner and the appellate tribunal shall, for the purposes ~eo:t~~ence of this act, have the same powers as are vested in a court under the etc 5 f 1901 code of civil procedure, 1908, when trying a suit in respect of the following matters, namely:-10 (a) enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath; (b) requiring the djscovery and production of documents; (c) receiving evidence on affidavit; (d) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses; 15 and any proceeding before the commissioner, the wealth-tax officer, the appellate assistant commissioner or the appellate tribunal shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 45 of 1160 193 and 228 of the indian penal code - 38 where for the purposes of determining the wealth-tax payable intormation 20 by any person, it appears necessary for the wealth-tax officer to returns and bt  t t  f t' f ' d' 'd i o am any s a ement or m orma ion rom any m ivl ua, company, statements firm, hindu undivided family or other person, the wealth-tax officer may serve a notice requiring such individual, company, firm, hindu undivided family or other person, on or before a date to be therein 2s specified, to furnish such statement or information on the points specified in the notice, and the individual or the principal officer concerned or the manager of the hindu undivided family, as the case may be, shall, notwithstanding anything in any law to the contrary, be bound to furnish such statement or information to the ·wealth-tax 30 officer, 39 whenever in respect of any proceeding under this act my effect of wealth-tax authority ceases to exercise jurisdiction and is succeeded tranhsfe,r, of , h" d" h h' aut orltjes by another who has and exercises suc juris lcbon, t e aut onty !;o on pending succeeding may continue the proceeding from the stage at which ih~ proceedings, 35 proceeding was left by his predecessor, 40, in computing the period of limitation prescribed for an appeal computation under this act or for an application under section 27, the day on °of( ~e~taodtl~ , , , liml od which the order complained of was made and the tune requisite for obtainijll, a copy of such order shall be excluded service of notice 41 (1) a notice or a requisition under this act may be served on the person therein named either by post or as if it were a summons issued by a court under the code of civil procedure, 1908 (2) any such notice or requisition may, in the case of a firm ora hindu undivided family, be addressed to any member of the firm or s to the manager or any adult male member of the family, and in the case of any other association of persons be addressed to the principal officer thereof pfr°dish~bclition 42 (1) subject to the provisions contained in sub-section (2), the o osur~ of informa- provisions of section 54 of the income-tax act shall apply to all 10 bon accounts or in relation to statements, documents, evidence or affidavits given, produced or obtained in connection with or in the course of any proceeding under this act as they apply to or in relation to similar particulars under that act subject to the modification that the relerence to 'any income-tax authority' in clause (d) of sub-section (2) is and to the 'commissioner' in sub-section (5) of that act shall be construed as a reference to 'any wealth-tax authority' and to the 'commissioner of wealth-tax' respectively (2) nothing contained in section 54 of the income-tax act shan apply to the disclosure of any such particulars as are referred to in $) sub-section (1) to any person acting in the execution of this act or the income-tax act or the estate duty act, 1953, where it is necessary 34 of if531 or desirable to disclose the same to him for the purplls2 of this act or any of the other acts aforesaid  - bar of jurisdiction 43 save as otherwise provided in this act, no suit shall lie in auy 25 civil court to set aside or modify any assessment made under this act, and no prosecution, suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against any officer of the government· for anythini in good faith done or intended to be done under this act appearance before wealth-tax authorities by autrorised represeotati\les 44 any assessee who is entitled to or required to attend before any )0 wealth-tax authority or the appellate tribunal in connection with any proceeding or inquiry under this act, except where he is required under this act to attend in person, may attend by a person authorised by him in writing in this behalf, being a relative of, or a person rei!llarly employed by, the assessee or a legal practitioner or a chartered 3f accountant exp'lanation-for the purposes of this section,-(a) the expression, "a person regularly employed by the  assessee" includes any officer of a scheduled bank with which the assessee maintain" t current account or has other regular dealings; 3 •• f 1,9 (b) "chartered accountant" means a chartered accountant as defined in the chartered accountants act, 1949 s 45 the provisions of this act shall not apply to-n:t not to apply in eel-(a) a banking company as defined in section 5 of the tajd caicl 10 of 1949  of 193' banking companies act, 1949; (b) an insurer within the meaning of the insurance act, 1938; ~o i of 19,6 (c) any company formed and registered under the companies act, 1956, established with the object of financing, whether by way of making loans or advances to, or subscribing to the capital of, private industrial enterprises in india, in any case where tl)e central government has made or agreed to make to the company is a special advance for the purpose or has guaranteed or agreed to guarantee tbe payment of moneys borrowed by the company from any institution outside india 48 (1) the board may, by notification in the official gazette, p~er_,!! ma  e nun make rules for carrying out the purposes of this act 20 (2) in particular, and without prejudice to the generality of tht' foregoing power, rules made under this section may provide for-(a) the manner in which the market value of any asset may be determined in cases where it is not easily ascertainable; (b) the form in which returns under this act shall be made, 2s and the manner in wh;ch they shall be verified; (c) the form in which appeals and applications under this act may be made, and the manner in which they shall be verified; (d) the form of any notice of demand under this act; (e) the areas for which lists of valuers may be drawn up; 30 (1) any other matter which has to be or may be prescribed for the purposes of this act (3) the power to make rules conferred by this section shall on the first occasion of the exercise thereof include the power to give retrospective effect to the rules or any of them from a date not 3s earlier than the date of commencement of this act (4) all rules made under this act shall be laid before each house of parliament as soon as may be after they are made and shall be subject to such modifications as parliament may make durin6{ the f:lession in which they are so laid or the session immediately 40 following :  i: ! 'i 325 l8"'"  (see section 3) 41 rates of wealth-taxpart i (a) in the case of every individual:-rate of tax nil i% 1% h% (i) on the first rupees two lakhs of net wealth (u) on the next rupees ten lakhs 'of net wealth (iii) on the next rupees ten lakhs of net wealth  (iv) on the balance of net wealth (b) in the case of every hindu undivided family:-(i) on the ftrst rupees three lakhs of net wealth (ii) on the next rupees ten lakhs of net wealth (iii) on the next rupees ten lakhs of net wealth (iv) on the balance of net wealth nil " 1% h, part ii in the case of every company:-(i) on the first rupees five lakhs of net wealth (ii) on the balance of net wealth nil i% rule 1-where the net wealth of an assessee includes the value of any asset on which wealth-tax is not payable, the amount of tax payable by the assessee shall be an amount bearing to the total amount of wealth-tax which would have been payable on the net wealth had no property been exempt the same proportion as the unexempted portion of net wealth bears to the net wealth rule 2-where the net wealth of an assessee, not being a company, in respect of any assessment year includes the value of any shares in a private company as defined in section 3 of the companies act, 1956, the wealth-tax payable by the assessee on his net wealth i of i"" for that assessment year, computed in accordance with the rates specifted above, shall be reduced by the amount, if any, by which the sum of the following, namely:-(a) that portion of the wealth-tax payable by the assessee computed as aforesaid as bears to the whole amount of the tax, the same proportion as the value of the shares aforesaid included in his net wealth bears to his net wealth, (b) that portion of the wealth-tax, if any, paid by the company in respect of the same asaessment year, as bears to the whole amount of the said tax, the same proportion iw the raid-up value of the shares included in the assessment of the 8888ssee aforesaid bears to the aggregate paid-up value of the share capital of the company as on the relevant valuation date, exceeds the amount calculated at the rate of 1·5 per cent on the value of the shares included in his net wealth  statement of objects and reasons~ the object of this bill is to impose an annual tax on the net wealth of individuals, hindu undivided families and companies the proposed tax is an important constituent of an integrated tax structure which government have been aiming at for some time with income-tax, estate duty and a tax on capital gains already in existence and with the addition of the wealth-tax and a tax on large personal expenditures (separately being proposed) the direct taxes will form a composite system made up of complementary elements apart from the fact that a composite tax system of this type helps to satisfy the criterion of the ability to pay, it is consistent with the avowed goal of the attainment of a socialistic pattern of society new delhi; the 15th may, 1957 t t krishnamachari  financial memorandumthis bill proposes a levy of tax with effect from 1st april, 1957 on the net wealth of individuals, hindu undivided fam!lies and companies this is a new tax but the procedure for assessment and collection of this new tax is very much allied to that of taxes on income it is, therefore, proposed that for the time being wealthtax be administered by the income-tax department and that no separate administrative machinery should be set up the existing pressure of work on the income-tax department is, however, already quite heavy this pressure is likely to increase further on account of the proposed lowering of the minimum taxable umits it will, therefore, be necessary to expand adequately the staff at various levels of the departmental cadres the increase of personnel, along with incidental expenses of administration, including payment of remuneration to valuers of immovable properties is estimated to cost rs 40 lakhs ultimately actual recruitment of staff will, however, be made as and when it is founli really necessary capital expenditure will be in respect of construction of office and residential accommodation such expenditure when incurred will form part of the requirements of the income-tax staff  i volume of worknumber of "persons" who will be liable to tax :-(a) indifliduals 26,000 (other than purely salary earners, having income of more than ri 20,000 each-who are expected to have net wealth exceeding rs 2 ibkhs) (b) hindu undivided families (having income of more than rs 2s,ooo each-which are expected to have net wealth exceeding rs 3 lakhs) (c) companies (with net worth exceeding rs s lakhs) total number of companies as per registers (19$6) (1 companies with paid-up capital of above rs 5 lakhs (3076 in 1953) 4,000 (ia) companies with paid-up capital of ri 3' 5 to 5 lakhs, which are likely to have adequate reserves to make them liable to wealth-tax 3,000 less insurance and banking companies included above 347 defunct companies 700 total number of persons 36,000  , ii requirement of personnel and finance  a officers| no              | cost                        ||------------------|-----------------------------|| r •             |                             || i               |                             || 2               |                             || 3               |                             || no              | of                          || idcomc-tax       |                             || 3                |                             || 3:k:aooo x 12    |                             || 72,000           |                             || no              |                             || of               |                             || inspecting       |                             || assistant        |                             || com-             |                             || missoners        | and                         || commissioners    |                             || (8+12)           |                             || 20               |                             || 2oxi200xi2       | 2,88,000                    || no              | of                          || taking           |                             || the              |                             || average disposal |                             || per              |                             || income-tax       |                             || officer          |                             || per              |                             || annum            |                             || @                |                             || 300              | 120 120 x 500 x 12 7,20,000 | b staff4· s· 6 7· 8 9 10 no of inspectors 60 6ox250xi2 1,80,000 no of supervisors  23 23x3s0x 12 96,600 no of head clerks 63 63x2s0:k12 1,89,000 no of u d cs 301 301 x iso x 12 s>4i,8oo no of l d cs 160 160xi2oxi2 2,30>400 no of stenographers 23 23xisoxi2 41>400 no of stenotypists 131 131 x 140 x 12 2,20,080  say c incuunral ~incidental ~es including clan iv taft' contingc:nacs and paymcot of remuneration to valuer estimated at - ri 14~s ri 40lakhs total  memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 46 of the bill authorises the central board of revenue to make rules with respect to matters like the manner in which market values of assets may be determined in cases where they are not easily determinable, the form in which returns may be made under the act, the form in which appeals should be filed or notices ('jf demand issued the rule making power is thus of a normal character  a billto provide for the levy of wealth-tax the president has, in pursuance of clauses (1) and (3) of article ii7 of the constitution of india, recommended to 10k sabha, the introduction and consideration of the bill m n kaul, secretary (shri t t krishnamachtlri, minister of fintlnce) 