Section 54EC of the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides exemption from long-term capital gains tax provided an assessee invests within six months after the sale of his property in long-term specified assets. The Finance Act 2007 limited such exemption to Rs 50 lakh in any financial year. Some overzealous tax assessing officers seem to interpret this as a one-time exemption up to Rs 50 lakh only. Such an interpretation will prevent anyone taking advantage of a property sale, for example, in January 2008, facilitating an immediate Rs 50 lakh investment in January 2008 in specified assets, and another Rs 50 lakh investment before the expiry of six months after sale in specified assets.

The Securities Transaction Tax (STT) was introduced into the income-tax code by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2004, taking effect from April 1, 2005. It was expected to give a major boost to both the income-tax department in terms of revenue and the equity market. When STT was paid on share transactions, no liability for long-term capital gains tax arose. Short-term capital gains were taxed at 10 per cent if STT was paid. This was the position till March 31, 2008.

When agreements are entered into for purchase of property, rights are created in favour of the parties to the agreement. Failure to honour the agreement can lead to breach of contract and claims for damages or specific performance. Quite often, such breach of contract ultimately results in a compromise settlement of the dispute and monies are paid as quits. Will the receipt of such compensation for breach result in tax consequences?

When investors make profits on sale of assets like land, shares and mutual fund units, it is termed as capital gains. The investor has to pay tax on the resulting gains that is commonly referred to as capital gains tax. The amount of money outflow from your pocket depends on how long you held the property. If a residential property is held by the seller for more than 36 months, it is considered a long-term investment. For investments over the short term, the short-term capital gain is added to your total income. You will be taxed depending on the tax bracket you fall in. When computing long-term capital gain, a bit more complexity is involved. Indexation is the process by which inflation is taken into account and the purchase price is proportionately increased. Consequently, the amount you end up paying as tax is reduced.

Court noted that basic requirement of Sec.53A of TPA is a written agreement and Sec.2(47)(v) can be invoked only if conditions laid out in Sec.53A are fulfilled. In the instant case there was neither any written agreement between the Assessee and builder nor any consideration received by her thus 53A of TPA can’t come into play as a result of which 2(47)(v) can’t be invoked. Thus it held that there was no transfer in the instant case within the meaning of Sec.2(47)(v) of the Act and since there is no transfer, question of resulting profit and capital gain doesn’t arise.

Where the landowner and builder execute joint development agreement, if the consideration is receivable in built-up area to be constructed and handed over by the builder to the landowner, it is advisable to avoid the applicability of section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act. This can be achieved by mentioning in the agreement that license is granted to the builder to enter the premises and construct the building. The possession is retained by the landowner, which will be handed over as and when the built-up area is constructed and delivered. By this stipulation, the transfer will take place only in the year in which the built-up area is received and not before.