Law: Wealth Tax Act, 1957

Section: 27(1),5(l)(xii)

Wealth tax--­ ----Exemption---"Work of art", meaning of---Cups and trophies are not works of art ---Assessee is not entitled to exemption in respect of them--­Wealth Tax Act, 1957, S.5(1)(xii). Words of art are entitled to exemption under section 5(1)(xii) of the Wealth Tax Act, 1957. The meaning of the expression "works of art" has to be construed in the context of the provisions of section 5(1)(xii) of the Act and the expression "works of art" is employed alongwith other expressions like archaeological, scientific or art collections, books or manuscripts belonging to the assessee. There must be an element of human skill employed in the making of the article and the result of human skill should be apparent in the article to regard them as works of art. It is not every article which is manufactured manually that can be regarded as a work of art and there must be some artistic innovation which would turn them into works of art. There was a search on January 20, 1981, in the premises of the assessee and in his native place at K. During the course of search it was found that there were silver articles weighing about 150 to 200 kgs. which were not properly explained. The assessee claimed that out of the said quantity, 73.850 kgs. belonged to the assessee, that the assessee had converted trophies weighing 95.310 kgs, into silver articles and in the process obtained 75.310 kgs. after conversion. The assessee claimed that the trophies should be regarded as works of art within the meaning of section 5(1)(xii). The claim was rejected by the Wealth Tax Officer. The Tribunal found that the trophies could not be regarded as works of art and, therefore, the assessee was not entitled to claim exemption. On a reference: Held, that the Tribunal on inspection of the trophies and cups came to the conclusion that the said trophies carried certain engraved markings of the occasion and events in which the assessee won the cups and trophies and there was no human skill applied on the said trophies or cups. Since, the Tribunal had come to the above conclusion on a visual inspection of the samples of articles produced before it, it was justified in holding that the assessee was not…

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