V. Balasubramanian, Vice President - (1.)1 . The appeals are by the department and the cross-objections by the assessee. There is a delay in the filing of the cross-objections. The assessee has filed an affidavit explaining the delay. The similar points covered by these appeals had come up before the appellate authorities in the earlier years also on departmental appeals. Since the assessee had not filed cross-objections at that time, it is averred that the Bench of the Tribunal indicated its inability for the assessee to be given any relief even if he was entitled to it without any cross-objections being filed. The cross-objections for the years under appeal were filed immediately after the decision of the Tribunal. The learned counsel for the department has strongly objected to the condonation of the delay. After hearing the parties, we admit the cross-objections.
(2.)The only point in dispute in these appeals and the cross-objections relates to the valuation of a property known as 'Lentin Court'. For the assessment years under appeal, the assessee had returned the value of this property at Rs. 3,74,000. The WTO, however, fixed the value of the property at Rs. 22,00,000 for the assessment year 1977-78 and Rs. 25,00,000 for the assessment year 1978-79. On appeal, the Commissioner (Appeals) reduced the value of the property to Rs. 16,42,000 for each of these two years.
The property under question had a chequered history. The assessee is an individual. In 1934, the trustees of the Bombay Port Trust leased out a piece of land, plot No. 26, measuring 1,641 sq. yards on a 99 years' lease to one Phirozeshow Cawasji Lentin and his wife. These people constructed the building on the premises named 'Lentin Court' in the same year. On 29-10-1935, the trustees of the Bombay Port Trust and Mr. and Mrs. Phirozeshow Cawasji Lentin demised the said property to one Rao Saheb Surve for a period of 99 years at specified figures of rent. Rao Saheb Surve sub-leased the property, the plot with the building, to one Shri Otto King for a period of 10 years from 1-1-1938 at a rent of Rs. 2,000 per month. Otto King started the business of running a guesthouse in the said building known as 'Lentin Court Guest House'. On 4-6-1946, Otto King assigned and transferred the business to a partnership consisting of Ram Kishan Mittal and Mrs. Shivdevi Shelly (the wife of the present assessee) in its entirety.

(3.)THE partnership started the business and continued it subsequently taking in one more partner Madan Gopal Gupta. Though the partnership was initially for a period of two years, it continued till 31-7-1951 on which date R.K. Mittal and Madan Gopal retired from the firm under the terms of a duly executed dissolution deed. With effect from August 1951, the third partner, Smt. Shivdevi Shelly carried on the business of 'Lentin Court Guest House' as a sole proprietory concern. She remained the sole tenant of the immovable property known as 'Lentin Court'.