Ramkumar Reddy Satty Vs ACIT (ITAT Hyderabad)
The appeal before the ITAT Hyderabad concerned the levy of penalty under section 271D of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for alleged violation of section 269SS in respect of cash received on sale of immovable property. The assessee sold a property during assessment year 2018–19 for ₹39,38,000, out of which ₹9,38,000 was received in cash at the time of registration of the sale deed on 12 July 2017. The Assessing Officer levied penalty equal to the cash amount, holding that acceptance of such cash violated section 269SS. The Commissioner (Appeals) affirmed the penalty, rejecting the assessee’s explanation that the cash was received before the Sub-Registrar on the date of registration due to the purchaser’s lack of bank balance.
Before the Tribunal, the assessee argued that the amendment to section 269SS with effect from 1 June 2015 introduced the concept of “specified sum,” which applies to cash received as advance or otherwise in relation to transfer of immovable property. It was contended that this provision targets advance payments and not final sale consideration received at the time of registration. The assessee also relied on the introduction of section 269ST with effect from 1 April 2017 to show that cash transactions of ₹2 lakh or more are separately governed for completed transactions. The assessee produced the registered sale deed, showing receipt of cash before the Sub-Registrar, which was not disputed by the Revenue.
