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1999 Supreme(SC) 806
1999(6) Supreme 395
Supreme Court of India
(From Punjab & Haryana High Court)
D.P. Wadhwa & M.B. Shah, JJ.
Notified Area Committee Nangal Township -Appellant
versus
Bhakra Management Board, Chandigarh & Ors. -Respondents
Civil Appeal Nos. 3830-34 of 1990
With
Civil Appeal Nos. 1785-1786 of 1990
Decided on 4-8-1999
Counsel for the Parties :
For the Appellant : Ms. Kamini Jaiswal, Advocate
For the Respondents : Dhruv Mehta, S.K. Mehta, Fazlin Anam, Ms. Shobha, Advocates.
Headnote:Punjab Municipal Act, 1911-Sections 3(2) r/w 242-House tax-Quarters and Bungalows of Bhakra Management Board given to its officers and employees-Notification u/s 242 exempting buildings having annual rental value not exceeding Rs. 840-Area Committee earlier assessing house tax on each of house, bungalow on basis of annual value worked out independently-After notification assessing tax treating quarters or bungalows of one block as one building-Not justified-Each quarter or bungalow would fall within definition of ‘building’-Committee could not club all quarters/bungalows in one block together and term that as building.
Held : We do not think that the Committee is right in its approach. If we may refer to the definition of the ‘building’, it means any house used for the purpose of human habilitation. The term ‘house’ in the present case would mean a dwelling house intended for human habilitation. It is not disputed that each quarter or bungalow is allotted to a separate employee who lives therein with his family. Simply because some quarters or some bungalows have common wall separating each other would not mean that that quarter or bungalow ceases to be a house. A house is a place of dwelling or habilitation. It is difficult to accept the proposition that quarters in one row having common wall though each separating the other would mean one building for the purpose of arriving at the annual value. We do not think that any argument is needed for us to hold that each such quarter or bungalow for the residence of employees of the Board would fall within the definition of ‘building’. Stand of the Committee appears to us is rather incongruous. Just to get more revenue, the Committee could not change its stand and put interpretation on the term ‘building’ which is incomprehensible. The Committee was not justified in clubbing all the quarters/bungalows in one block together and term that as ‘building’. (Para 9)
Judgment
D.P. Wadhwa, J.-The question that falls for consideration in these appeals is if the appellent - Notified Area Committee-Was legally correct in assessing the annual value of row of quarters in one block as a ‘building’ for the purpose of levying house tax under the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911 (‘Act‘ for short). This question arises on the interpretation of the word ‘building’ in the Act.
2. ‘Building’ is defined under clause (2) of Section 3 of the Act to mean “any shop, house, hut, outhouse, shed or stable, whether used for the purpose of human habilitation or otherwise and whether of masonry, bricks, wood, mud, thatch, metal or any other material whatever and includes a wall and a well”.
3. The question crops up in the following circumstances.
Respondent Board (Bhakra Management Board) is constituted by the Central Government under Section 79 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. The Board was so constituted for administration, maintenance and operation of various works as described in the section. These works included Bhakra dam and reservoir and power houses. For the construction, maintenance and operation of the works entrusted to the Board under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, the Board constructed number of residential houses at Nangal township for providing residential accommodation to its officers, staff and workers employed in the power houses. Residential accommodation consisted of different types of bungalows and quarters for the officers and employees of different categories. Each of the bungalows and quarters have separate boundary walls and it is a compact unit with distinct and separate house numbers and allotted to each of the officers and employees of the Board. Different blocks have row of quarters/bungalows each adjoining to one and another but with a separate identification mark and a complete unit in itself.
4. Earlier each of the bungalow/quarter has been assessed to the house tax on the basis of annual value worked out separately for these bungalows/quarters as provided in Section 3 of the Act. However, the Committee raised annual value for purposes of house tax for the year 1977-78 treating the entire block as one building and imposed ad valeram rate of house tax 15% of the annual rental value in accordance with Section 63 of the Act. For the subsequent years also the Committee raised bills on the Board on similar basis.
5. Under Notification dated January 23, 1976 of the Local Government Department of the Punjab Government issued under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of Section 242 of the Act, the Government of Punjab imposed within the limits of the Notified Area Committee, Nangal township a tax payable by the owner of the building at the rate specified in the schedule. This schedule is as under :
S.No. Description of property Rate of Tax
1. Building and lands having annual rental value-
(i) not exceeding No Tax Rs. 840/-
(ii) exceeding Rs. 850 12 per cent but not exceeding Rs. 1,800/-
(iii) exceeding Rs.1,800/- 15 per cent
6. Now when the Committee raised bill for house tax clubbing quarters or bungalows adjoining to each other as one building, the Board objected to the same contending that each individual quarter/bungalow occupied by its employees has to be treated as separate and that the building having annual rental value not exceeding Rs. 840/- would be exempt from house tax. The objections of the Board were rejected by the Committee. The Board thereafter filed an appeal under Section 84(1) of the Act before the Deputy Commissioner, Ropar for setting aside and quashing the demand bill and for the refund of the excess tax recovered from the Board. The Board had made the payment under protest. This a
