Maniti Jayesh Shah Vs ITO (ITAT Mumbai)
ITAT Treats Property Gain as LTCG Because Holding Period Counted From Allotment Date; Section 56(2)(x) Addition Sent Back for Verification Because Allotment Date Could Determine Stamp Duty Value; Additional Evidence Deemed Admitted Because CIT(A) Considered It While Deciding Appeal; From Related-Party Transaction Without Proof of Sham Arrangement, Says ITAT.
The appeal arose from an assessment for AY 2018-19 involving the purchase and subsequent sale of an office premises. The assessee had purchased the property from a developer for ₹71,90,000, while the stamp duty valuation at the time of registration on 11.08.2017 was ₹1,70,76,100. The property was sold on 13.10.2017 for ₹1,72,00,000. The assessee declared the gain as Long-Term Capital Gain (LTCG), claiming that the property had originally been allotted in Financial Year 2010-11 through an allotment letter dated 10.04.2010 and that consideration had been paid through banking channels in Financial Years 2010-11 and 2012-13.
The Assessing Officer rejected the claim, holding that the registered purchase deed dated 11.08.2017 represented the acquisition date. Since the property was sold within about three months of registration, the gain was treated as Short-Term Capital Gain (STCG). The difference between the stamp duty valuation and the purchase consideration, amounting to ₹98,86,100, was also added under Section 56(2)(x).
