Case: Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation Vs. Commissioner Of Wealth Tax, West Bengal

2. The assessee is a Sterling Company incorporated in U.K. It carries on business of supplying electric energy in the city of Calcutta. During the year 1959-60, the corresponding valuation date being March 31, 1959, the assessee showed in its balance-sheet a deduction of 1b. 8,54,948 from the value of its total assets on the ground that the sum in question represents the contribution made by the consumers for putting up service connections. The relevant portion of the balance-sheet reads thus:THE CALCUTTA ELECTRIC SUPPLY CORPORATION LIMITEDACCOUNT OF CAPITAL EXPENDITURE AND OFThe Wealth-tax Officer proceeded to assess the net wealth of the assessee under section 7 (2) of the Act. But he refused to grant the deduction claimed though he accepted the valuation of the assets as shown in the balance-sheet. Thereafter the assessee went up in appeal to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner of Wealth-tax. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner allowed the appeal holding that as the Wealth Tax Officer has proceeded to assess the assessee under S. 7 (2), he must accept the balance-sheet as a whole. Hence it was impermissible for him not to allow the deduction shown in the balance sheet. He accordingly deleted the amount added back by the Wealth Tax Officer. As against that order, the Department went up in appeal to the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal. The Tribunal held that although the entire undertaking of the company including portions of Mains and Service Connections put up at the expense of consumers was the property of the company, it would not be correct to include the value of such portions in the net wealth of the company computed under S. 7 (2). The Tribunal further held that the marketability of the Electric Undertaking had certain special features which had to be taken into consideration in assessing its valuation. One such special feature the Tribunal noted was that the company could not sell the undertaking except in accordance with the provisions of S. 5 ofthe Indian Electricity Act, 1910, and the market value of the undertaking in the event of sale had to be determined in accordance with the provisions in S. 7A of the Act. While computing the value of the undertaking under S. 7A of that Act, the value of service lines and other capital works or any part thereof which has been constructed at the expense of the consumers has to be ignored. In the result the Tribunal agreed with the conclusions reached by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner.4. As mentioned earlier at the instance of the Department, the Tribunal submitted two questions of law. We have already set out the question with which we are concerned in these appeals.5. The High Court answered the question referred to it for its opinion against the assessee.

Court's reasoning:
7. As seen earlier, the Wealth-tax Officer had determined the value of the assets under S. 7 (2). There is no dispute that the assessee is maintaining regular accounts for the business it is carrying on. Therefore it was open to the Wealth-tax Officer, instead of determining separately the value of each asset held by the assessee as a part of its business, to determine the net value of the assets of the business as a whole as on the valuation date having regard to the balance-sheet of such business. This section nowhere says that the Wealth-tax Officer while proceeding under S. 7 (2) is bound to accept every entry in the balance-sheet. What the section permits the Wealth-tax Officer is that instead of separately valuing each asset forming part of the business, he may determine the net value of the business as a whole having regard to the balance-sheet of such business as on the valuation date. In other words S. 7 (2) authorises the Wealth-tax Officer to accept the valuation of the assets of a business as shown in the balance sheet of the company. He is not bound to accept any deduction shown in the balance sheet if he comes to the conclusion that the said deduction was impermissible. Section 7 (2) does not say that the Wealth-tax Officer should accept the balance-sheet as a whole or reject it as a whole. He is merely authorised to accept the value of the assets of the business as shown in the balance-sheet. In the present case, the Wealth-tax Officer has accepted the value of the assets of the business as shown in the balance-sheet. But he has not accepted the fact that the service lines are not owned by the assessee.8. We shall now proceed to consider whether the service lines which were constructed at the, expense of consumers are the assets of the company. In the balance-sheet they are shown as the assets of the company. There was no material before the authorities under the Act to hold that they were not the assets of the company. The fact that those assets were acquired by the company by utilizing the contributions made by the consumers is a wholly irrelevant circumstance. The only thing relevant for the purpose of the Act is that the assessee should be the owner of the assets in question on the relevant valuation date. The Act does not concern itself with the mode in which those assets were acquired. It is immaterial for the purpose of the Act whether the assessee acquired those assets from his own money or with the assistance of others. The balance-sheet shows those service connections as the assets of the assessee. It was not said that they were the assets of the consumers on the relevant valuation date. The admission in the balance-sheet (profit and loss accounts) is not rebutted by any other evidence. Hence the Wealth-tax Officer was justified in holding that they were assessees assets. The Tribunal was impressed by the fact that if and when the undertaking is sold, the assessee will not get any price for the service connections in view of S. 7A (2) ofthe Indian Electricity Act, 1910. Sec. 7A provides for the determination of the purchase price on revocation of licence under S. 4. Whenever a licence of a licencee under the Indian Electricity Act is revoked under S. 4, it is open to the State Government to acquire the undertaking itself or to direct the licensee to sell the undertaking to one or the other of the authorities or person designated therein. When a sale in pursuance of such a direction is effected, valuation of the undertaking is made in accordance with Section 7A.It is true that in view of S.7A (2) of the Electricity Act, is computing the market value of the undertaking sold under sub-s. (1) of S. 5 of that Act, the value of service lines which had been constructed at the expense of the consumer will not be taken into consideration. The reason for this provision is obvious. It will be the duty of the new licensee to not only maintain and repair those lines but also to replace them when they become unserviceable. But S. 7 of the Electricity Act only deals with sales under S. 5 (1) of the Act. But if a sale is effected under S.8, the licensee shall have the option to dispose of all land, building, works, material and plants belonging to the undertaking in such manner as he may think fit. In such sales, it is open to him to value the service connections put up at the expense of the consumers and add the same in computing the sale price. It is clear from Ss. 5 to 8 of the Electricity Act that the licensee is the owner of the service connections put up at the expense of the consumer. If that is not so, there was no purpose in mentioning in Section 7A that while determining the market value of the undertaking, the value of the service connections shall not be taken into consideration. Further S. 8 would not have permitted the licensee to pocket the value of those service connections. The fact that the value of one or more of the assets of an undertaking will not be taken into consideration in computing the value of an undertaking when sold under compulsion of, law because of some statutory provision does not by itself show that it is not a valuable asset. Section 7 of the Act does not take note of hypothetical possibilities in the matter of valuation of the assets. It merely concerns itself as to what is the true market value of the assets in question on the valuation date. So far as the market value of the asset with which we are concerned in this case there is no difficulty. We have the assessees own admission in its balance sheet.