Exemptions in respect of certain assets.
965. 97[[***] Wealth-tax shall not be payable by an
assessee in respect of the following assets], and such assets shall not be
included in the net wealth of the assessee—
(i) any
property held by him under trust or other legal obligation for any public
purpose of a charitable or religious nature in India :
98[Provided that
nothing contained in this clause shall apply to any property forming part of
any business, not being a business referred to in clause (a) or clause (b)
of sub-section (4A) of section 11 of the Income-tax Act in respect of which
separate books of account are maintained or a business carried on by an
institution, fund or trust referred to in 99[***] clause (23B) or clause (23C) of
section 10 of that Act;]
(ii) the
interest of the assessee in the coparcenary property of any Hindu undivided
family of which he is a member ;
(iii) 1[any one building in the occupation of a Ruler, being a
building which immediately before the commencement of the Constitution
(Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1971, was his official residence by virtue of a
declaration by the Central Government] under paragraph 13 of the Merged States
(Taxation Concessions) Order, 1949, or
paragraph 15 of the Part B States (Taxation Concessions) Order, 1950;
(iv)
to 2[Omitted by the Finance Act, 1992, w.e.f. 1-4-1993.]
(xiii)
3[(iv)] 4jewellery in the possession of any Ruler, not being his
personal property, which has been recognised before the commencement of this
Act, by the Central Government as his heirloom or, where no such recognition
exists, which the Board may, subject to any rules that may be made by the
Central Government in this behalf, recognise as his heirloom at the time of his
first assessment to wealth-tax under this Act :
5[Provided that
in the case of jewellery recognised by the Central Government as aforesaid,
such recognition shall be subject to the following conditions, namely :—
(i) that the jewellery shall be permanently kept in India and shall not
be removed outside India except for a purpose and period approved by the Board
;
(ii) that reasonable steps shall be taken for keeping the jewellery
substantially in its original shape ;
(iii) that reasonable facilities shall be allowed to any officer of
Government authorised by the Board in this behalf to examine the jewellery as
and when necessary ; and
(iv) that if any of the conditions hereinbefore specified is not being
duly fulfilled, the Board may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, withdraw
the recognition retrospectively with effect from the date of commencement of
clause (b) of section 5 of the Rulers of Indian States (Abolition of
Privileges) Act, 1972, and in such a case, wealth-tax shall become payable by
the Ruler for all the assessment years after such commencement for which the
jewellery was exempted on account of the recognition.
Explanation.—For
the purposes of clause (iv) of the foregoing proviso, the fair market
value of any jewellery on the date of the withdrawal of the recognition in respect
thereof shall be deemed to be the fair market value of such jewellery on each
successive valuation date relevant for the assessment years referred to in the
said proviso :
Provided
further that the aggregate amount of
wealth-tax payable in respect of any jewellery under clause (iv) of the
foregoing proviso for all the assessment years referred to therein shall not in
any case exceed fifty per cent of its fair market value on the valuation date
relevant for the assessment year in which recognition was withdrawn;]
(xv)
to 6[Omitted by the Finance Act, 1992, w.e.f. 1-4-1993.]
(xxxii)
7[8[(v)] 9in the case of an
assessee, being a person of Indian origin 10[or a citizen of India
(hereafter in this clause referred to as such person)] who was ordinarily
residing in a foreign country and who, on leaving such country, has returned to
India with the intention of permanently residing therein, moneys and the value
of assets brought by him into India and the value of the assets acquired by him
out of such moneys 11[within one year
immediately preceding the date of his return and at any time thereafter] :
Provided
that this exemption shall apply only for a period of seven successive
assessment years commencing with the assessment year next following the date on
which such person returned to India.
Explanation
12[1].—A
person shall be deemed to be of Indian origin if he, or either of his parents
or any of his grand-parents, was born in undivided India.]
13[Explanation
2.—For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that moneys standing to
the credit of such person in a Non-resident (External) Account in any bank in
India in accordance with the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 (46 of
1973), and any rules made thereunder, on the date of his return to India, shall
be deemed to be moneys brought by him into India on that date;]
14[(vi) 15one house or part of a
house or a plot of land belonging to an individual or a Hindu undivided family
:
Provided
that wealth-tax shall not be payable by an assessee in respect of an asset
being a plot of land comprising an area of five hundred square metres or less.]
(xxxiv) 16[Omitted by the
Finance Act, 1992, w.e.f. 1-4-1993.]
(1A) 17[Omitted by the Finance Act, 1992, w.e.f.
1-4-1993.]
(2) 18[Omitted
by the Finance Act, 1992, w.e.f. 1-4-1993.]
(3) 19[Omitted by the Finance Act, 1992, w.e.f.
1-4-1993.]
(4) 20[Omitted by the Finance Act, 1992, w.e.f.
1-4-1993.]