The assessee and his wife jointly purchased a flat for Rs.60,00,002, whereas the stamp duty value was Rs.94,81,500, resulting in a difference of Rs.34,81,500. The assessee held 41.08% share and his wife 58.92% share. The assessee disputed the stamp duty valuation and specifically requested reference to the Departmental Valuation Officer, but the authorities below failed to consider the request and added the entire difference in the assessee’s hands on the ground that the wife’s case had escaped scrutiny. The Tribunal held that once the stamp duty valuation was specifically disputed and a valuation report had been furnished, the AO ought to have referred the matter to the DVO before determining the taxable difference. It further held that there was no justification for taxing the entire difference in the hands of the assessee merely because no action had been taken in the case of his wife, ignoring the specific shares in the jointly held property. The order of the CIT(A) was set aside and the matter was restored to the AO for determining the valuation by reference to the DVO after giving the assessee reasonable opportunity of hearing. (AY. 2018-19) (ITA No. 5585/Mum/2025 dt. 31-08-2026)
Shyamsunder Bansidhar Reengusia v. ITO (Mum.)(Trib.) [www.itatonline.org]
S.56: Income from other sources – Purchase of immovable property below stamp duty value – Difference between actual consideration and stamp duty value – Assessee specifically disputed stamp duty valuation and requested reference to DVO – Property jointly purchased by assessee and his wife in specified shares – CIT(A) failed to refer valuation to DVO and confirmed entire difference in assessee’s hands merely because wife’s case had not been assessed – Entire difference could not be taxed in hands of assessee ignoring his specific ownership share – Matter restored to AO for reference to DVO and determination of taxable difference – Assessee’s appeal allowed for statistical purposes. [S. 50C(2)(x)(b)]
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