Rita Goel Godawari Estates Vs ACIT (ITAT Bangalore)
The Bangalore Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has ruled in favor of Rita Goel Godawari Estates, overturning the Assessing Officer’s (AO) reliance on a Departmental Valuation Officer (DVO) report. The case centered on the assessment of long-term capital gains arising from the sale of an immovable property, jointly owned by the assessee and her husband, for the assessment year 2017-18.
The AO, based on a DVO valuation, had significantly reduced the cost of acquisition claimed by the assessee, leading to an increased capital gains liability. This valuation differed substantially from the registered valuer’s assessment provided by the assessee. However, the ITAT found a critical inconsistency: in the assessment of the assessee’s husband, who was a co-owner of the same property, the revenue had accepted the cost of acquisition as declared, without resorting to a DVO valuation.
The ITAT emphasized the principle of equal treatment, stating that the revenue cannot discriminate between co-owners involved in the same transaction. It cited the Supreme Court’s decision in Union of India Vs. Kaumudini Narayan Dalal, which established that the revenue cannot selectively challenge valuations or judgments in similar cases without justifiable cause. Further, the Punjab & Haryana High Court’s ruling in Jaswant Roy vs. Commissioner of Wealth Tax was also mentioned, fortifying the view that discrimination among co-owners is unacceptable.
