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(22) It was also submitted that for enhancing the rateable value in respect of the year 1964-65, a notice under section 126 of the Act as amended by Act No. Xlii of 1961, was served on the Office Secretary of the petitioner Society on March 31. 1964 and no fresh notice was necessary under the law for increasing the rateable value for tax in respect of the years 1965-66 and 1966-67 inasmuch as proceedings for enhancement were pending during the said years on the basis of the notice issued on March 30, 1965 for enhancement and assessment of rateable value in respect of the year 1965-65 with effect from December 20, 1964.

(41) We are, therefore, of the considered view that it is not necessary that the proceedings in pursuance of a notice for increasing the rateable value and of the assessment thereupon must be completed within the year in which the notice is given to become effective from the year in which notice is given and thus there is no merit in the first submission of the learned counsel for the petitloner-Society.

(42) Coming to the second and the third submissions made on behalf of the learned counsel for the petitioner, it requires analysis of Sections 124 to 127 of the Act.

(54) Coming to Section 127 of the Act, it gives a discretion to the Commissioner to prepare for the whole or any part of Delhi a new assessment list. If a new assessment list is to be prepared, the procedure for it is in relation to lands and buildings which are being assessed for the first time or where the rateable value of any land or building is sought to be increased, apart from public notice, an individual written notice thereof to the owner, lessee or the occupier is required to be given. This is so if the provisions of Section 127 are read with Section 124(3) of the Act. Similarly, if instead of preparing a new assessment list, the Commissioner seeks to adopt the rateable values stated in the assessment list of any year for the following year by increasing the rateable value given thereof, the Commissioner is required to give a publice notice and an individual notice but if the old rateable value of the previous year is being adopted for any following year, no individual notice need be given for the simple reason that there has to be no change but at the same time only public notice must be given as the owner, lessee or the occupier may show that old rateable value need not be adopted due to change of circumstances for that year.
(58) The submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner that the revision of assessment list for the year 1964-65 with effect from 20th December, 1964 having been made on 16-11-1967 being not available for the subsequent years, namely, 1965-66 to 1967-68 has no merit. As noticed by us earlier, the rateable values contained in the assessment list for the year 1964-65 stood adopted for the subsequent years. After issue of public notice and in view of bye-law No. 9, the petitioner continued to pay the property taxes at the old rateable value and it is only when the notice for increase in rateable value with effect from 20th December, 1964 stood finally adjudicated upon on 16-11-1967 that the demand was raised for the subsequent years on the same basis. In fact, the demand raised is not on the basis of how the provisional assessment list for the year 1964-65 stood but in fact the demand had been raised in accordance with the rateable value finally arrived at for the year 1964-65 with effect from 20th December, 1964. While adopting the assessment list of any previous year for any year, it was not necessary that the assessment list for the previous year must have become final in the sense that the proceedings for increasing the rateable value in the previous year must also come to an end and failing which the rateable value for the previous year cannot be adopted for the following year. All that Section 127 contemplates is that for any year the rateable value contained in the list for the previous year may be adopted. It was rateable value as contained in the assessment list for the year 1964-65 which was adopted for the following years.