Power to make rules

Section 46 of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 deals with power to make rules. The Board may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. The Act came into force on 01 Apr 1957.

(1) The Board may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, rules made under this (a) the manner in which the market value of any asset may be determined;

(b) the form in which returns under this Act shall be made and the manner in which they shall be verified; [(ba) the documents, statements, receipts, certificates, audit reports, reports of registered valuer or any other documents which may not be furnished along with the return but shall be produced before the Assessing Officer on demand under section 14A;

(bb) the class or classes of persons who shall be required to furnish the return in electronic form; the form and the manner in which the return in electronic form may be furnished; the documents, statements, receipts, certificates, audit reports, reports of registered valuer or any other documents which may not be furnished along with the return in electronic form and the computer resource or electronic record to which such return may be transmitted under section 14B;] (c) the form in which appeals and applications under this Act may be made, and the manner in which they shall be verified;

[(cc) the circumstances in which, the conditions subject to which, and the manner in which, the [Deputy Commissioner (Appeals)] [or the Commissioner (Appeals)] may permit an appellant to produce evidence which he did not produce or which he was not allowed to produce before the [Assessing Officer];] (d) the form of any notice of demand under this Act; [(dd) the procedure to be followed in calculating interest payable by assessees or interest payable by the Government to assessees under any provision of this Act, including the rounding off of the period for which such interest is to be calculated in cases where such period includes a fraction of a month, and specifying the circumstances in which and the extent to which petty amounts of interest payable by assessees may be ignored;] [(e) the areas within which Valuation Officers may exercise jurisdiction;

(ee) the manner in which and the conditions subject to which Valuation Officers, overseers, surveyors and assessors may exercise their powers under sub-section (1) of section 38A;] (f) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed for the purposes of this Act. [(3) The power to make rules conferred by this section shall include the power to give retrospective effect, from a date not earlier than the date of commencement of this Act, to the rules or any of them and, unless the contrary is permitted (whether expressly or by necessary implication), no retrospective effect shall be given to any rule so as to prejudicially affect the interests of assessees.] [(4) The Central Government shall cause every rule made under this Act [and the rules of procedure framed by the Settlement Commission under sub-section (7) of section 22F] to be laid as soon as may be after it is made before each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session [or in two or more successive sessions], and if before the expiry of the session [immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid], both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be, so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.]

Section 46, The Wealth-tax Act, 1957 (Act 27 of 1957).