Baby Vs ITO (ITAT Bangalore)
Stamp Value Is Not Gospel: DVO’s Valuation of the Same Property in Co-owner’s Case Must Govern Section 50C Addition
Summary: The Bangalore Bench of the ITAT has held that where the assessee disputes the adoption of the stamp duty value u/s 50C by producing a registered valuer’s report, and the Department itself has subsequently obtained a DVO’s valuation of the very same property in the case of another co-owner, the capital gain cannot be computed by mechanically adopting the higher stamp duty value. The valuation determined by the Departmental Valuation Officer in respect of the same property constitutes the more appropriate basis for computing the assessee’s proportionate sale consideration.
Facts of the Case
The assessee was a senior citizen who was not carrying on any business. During the relevant previous year, she, along with eleven other co-owners, sold an ancestral property for a total consideration of ₹1.90 crore. The assessee’s share in the property was 6.25%, and accordingly she received sale consideration of ₹11,87,500.
The assessee disclosed the resulting capital gain in her return of income. However, the stamp valuation authority had apparently adopted a substantially higher value for the property. Based on the assessee’s proportionate share in such stamp duty valuation, the AO adopted ₹18,90,000 as the deemed sale consideration u/s 50C, as against the actual consideration of ₹11,87,500.
