Case Law Details
Brief of the case
In the case of Shri Hasmukh N. Gala vs. ITO, ITAT has held that if assessee has invested substantial amount in new property, also received letter of allotment for new property then AO can’t denied exemption available u/s 54 of the Income Tax Act 1961.
Facts of the case
1. Assessee had declared sale of a residential property vide sale agreement dated 8/12/2009 for a total consideration of Rs.1,02,55,000/-. After considering the indexed cost of acquisition of Rs.14,17,904/-, the long term capital gain was computed at Rs.88,37,096/-. The relevant capital gain was claimed as exempt under section 54 of the Act on the strength of having acquired a new residential house being Flat Nos. 1 & 2 on 4th Floor in C-Wing, Ramniwas Building, Malad (E). The investment in acquisition of the new residential house was claimed by the assessee based on an advance of Rs.1.00 crore given to the builder as booking advance through a cheque dated 6/2/2010. The assessee produced a copy of receipt of payment and allotment letter dated 15/10/2010 from the builder to justify acquisition of the new residential house.
2. The Assessing Officer noted that in the instant case, even after two years of the date of transfer of old house the construction of the new property was not completed and that assessee had not gained possession of the new premises also. He, therefore, held that assessee did not comply with the requirements of section 54 of the Act in as much as it could not be said that assessee had purchased a new residential house within the period prescribed therein. The Assessing Officer was of the view that giving of advance could not be treated as equivalent to ‘purchase’ for the purpose of section 54 of the Act, because no agreement was executed and that the advance money could be returned at any time. For the said reasons, the Assessing Officer disallowed the exemption claimed under section 54 of the Act.
3. Aggrieved by the said determination, the assessee had preferred an appeal to the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) who has held that for the purpose of section 54 of the Act the term ‘purchase’ cannot be equated to ‘giving of advance’. Furthermore, CIT(A) observed that though assessee had parted with money, but he did not acquire possession or domain over the new residential house and, therefore, the denial of the claim of exemption under section 54 of the Act.
Aggrieved by the decision of CIT (A) assessee has filed an appeal in Tribunal
Issue
Whether CIT(A) is justified in upholding AO action of rejecting assessee claimed for exemption u/s 54 of the Income Tax Act by holding that the construction of the new property has not been completed in time, possession has not been obtained by assessee, and by ignoring the fact that assessee has paid substantial amount of new property and letter of allotment has also been issued?
Assessee’s contention
1. That assessee had duly invested the amount in acquisition of a new residential property and the delay in completion of construction by the builder was beyond the control of the assessee. It was pointed out that assessee had furnished the allotment letter in respect of the specific flat allotted by the builder and a copy of the same was also placed in the Paper Book at pages 7 to 10. It was emphasized that complete amount of consideration was paid to the builder and there was no requirement to produce an agreement when the letter of allotment alongwith proof of payment clearly established that assessee had invested towards acquisition of a new residential house.
2. That the Chandigarh Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Smt. Ranjeet Sandhu vs. DCIT, 49 SOT 7 (Chandigargh) held that completion of construction within the time limit prescribed in section 54 of the Act was not a condition for allowing of exemption and, therefore, on said parity of reasoning, assessee’s claim for exemption under section 54 of the Act cannot be denied merely because the new residential house was not completed.
Revenue’s Contention
Revenue has relied upon the conclusion drawn by the lower authorities viz. assessee did not comply with the requirements of section 54 of the Act in as much as it could not be said that assessee had purchased a new residential house within the period prescribed therein, advance could not be treated as equivalent to ‘purchase’ for the purpose of section 54 of the Act, because no agreement was executed and that the advance money could be returned at any time.
Tribunal decision / observations
The Hon’ble Delhi High Court in the case of CIT vs. Kuldeep Singh, 270 CTR 561 (Del) has explained the meaning of the expression ‘ purchased’ in the context of section 54 of the Act in following words:-
“8.The word ‘purchase’ can be given both restrictive and wider meaning. A restrictive meaning would mean transactions by which legal title is finally transferred, like execution of the sale deed or any other document of title. ‘Purchase’ can also refer to payment of consideration or part consideration alongwith transfer of possession under Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. Supreme Court way back in 1979 in CIT v. T.N Aravinda Reddy [1979] 120 ITR 46/2 Taxman 541, however, gave it a wider meaning and it was held that the payment made for execution of release deed by the brother thereby joint ownership became separate ownership for price paid would be covered by the word ‘purchase’. It was observed that the word ‘purchase’ used in Section 54 of the Act should be interpreted pragmatically. In a practical manner and legalism shall not be allowed to play and create confusion or linguistic distortion. The argument that ‘purchase’ primarily meant acquisition for money paid and not adjustment, was rejected observing that it need not be restricted to conveyance of land for a price consisting wholly or partly of money’s worth. The word ‘purchase’, it was observed was of a plural semantic shades and would include buying for a price or equivalent of price by payment of kind or adjustment of old debt or other monetary considerations. It was observed that if you sell a house and make profit, pay Caesar (State) but if you buy a house or build another and thereby satisfy the conditions of Section 54, you were exempt. The purpose was plain; the symmetry was simple; the language was plain.
The Hon’ble Delhi High Court further referred to the decision of Hon’ble Madhya Pradesh High Court in the case of Smt. Shashi Varma vs. CIT, 224 ITR 106(M.P) and that of the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court in the case of CIT vs. Smt. Bharati C. Kothari (Cal) 244 ITR 352 and opined that when substantial investment was made in the new property, it should be deemed that sufficient steps had been taken and it would satisfy the requirements of section 54 of the Act.
As per the Hon’ble High Court, the basic purpose behind section 54 of the Act is to ensure that the assessee is not taxed on the capital gain, if he replaces his house and spend money earned on the capital gain within the stipulated period. The parity of reasoning explained by the Hon’ble Delhi High Court in the case of Kuldeep Singh (supra) squarely covers the controversy in the present case in favour of the assertions made by the assessee. Therefore, we are inclined to uphold the plea of the assessee for exemption under section 54 of the Act qua the impugned investment in acquisition of the new residential house.
As per the Revenue the advance could be returned at any time and, therefore, the assessee may lose the exemption under section 54 of the Act. In our considered opinion, the aforesaid does not militate against assessee’s claim for exemption in the instant assessment year, as there is no evidence that the advance has been returned. In case, if it is found that the advance has been returned, it would certainly call for forfeiture of the assessee’s claim under section 54 of the Act. In such a situation, the proviso below section 54(2) of the Act would apply whereby it is prescribed that such amount shall be charged under section 45 as income of the previous year, in which the period of three years from the date of the transfer of the original asset expires.
In view of the aforesaid discussion and on the basis of material and evidence on record, we find that the assessee can be said to have complied with the requirement of section 54 of the Act; and, the exemption has been incorrectly denied by the lower authorities.
Very informative write up. Merely going by the book restrictively defeats the spirit of the law. Hats off to the assessee for not giving up when his claim for exemption was turned down in the first two rounds.