Vikram Singh Vs ITO (ITAT Agra)
COVID Delayed the Flat, Not the Tax Relief: ITAT Allows Section 54F Exemption
Purchase Beyond Two Years Did Not Defeat the Claim
The Agra Tribunal allowed exemption under Section 54F despite the purchase of a residential flat being delayed by seven months and eighteen days beyond the ordinary two-year period.
The Tribunal considered the assessee’s medical difficulties, the disruption caused by COVID-19, the beneficial character of Section 54F and the Supreme Court’s pandemic-related limitation directions. It held that the delay should not defeat the claim and allowed the appeal on merits. The connected stay application was dismissed as infructuous.
Plot Sale Led to Reassessment
The assessee filed his original return declaring income of ₹6,98,350. Information available with the Department showed that he had sold a plot at Etawah for ₹9 lakh, whereas its stamp duty value was ₹15.73 lakh.
The plot had been purchased on 24 March 2009 for ₹14,400 and sold on 22 June 2018. The assessment was reopened through a notice under Section 148 dated 31 March 2023.
During reassessment, the assessee furnished the sale deed, purchase deed, bank statements, capital gains account details and documents supporting his exemption claim. The AO adopted ₹15.73 lakh as the deemed sale consideration.
