The Gujarat High Court in the case of Commissioner of Income-tax Vs. Mormasji Mancharji Vaid (250ITR542) observed that while interpreting the provisions contained in the taxing statute, the objectives differ and, therefore, one will have to look to the provisions contained in the Income-tax Act.
The Supreme Court in the case of CIT v. Sirehmal Nawalakha (2001) 118TAX316 ruled that though there is no requirement under the Gift tax Act that the immovable property transferred need to be registered in the name of the donee yet in such a case the general law (Registration Act and Transfer of Property Act provisions) did not stand abrogated and the requirement of complying with the provisions of such enactments had to be fulfilled without which the gift itself would be invalid.
However for the purpose of tax on capital gains under section 45 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the Gujarat High Court in the case of Commissioner of Income-tax Vs. Mormasji Mancharji Vaid (250ITR542) held that transfer of immovable property of value exceeding Rs. 100 shall be deemed to be effected on the date of execution of the document of transfer and not either on the date of presentation of the document for registration or on the date on which registration of the deed is completed. The capital gains on the transfer has to be assessed to tax in the assessment year relevant to the previous year within which the date of execution of the deed of transfer falls, and not the subsequent assessment year relevant to the previous year in which the deed is registered.
“Transfer”, as defined in section 2(47), has to be given a simple meaning, taking into consideration the object of the Act. There cannot be different criteria to ascertain the meaning of the expression in the case of sale and lease.
Arundhati Balkrishna v. CIT [1982] 138 ITR 245 (Guj) approved.
Darbar Shivrajkumar v. CGT [1981] 131 ITR 647 (Guj) disapproved.
CIT v. Podar Cement P. Ltd. [1997] 226 ITR 625 (SC) relied on.
Registration of a deed of transfer is not an act of the transferor, but the act of the officer appointed by law to register the documents.