PCIT Asansol Vs Durgapur Projects Limited (Calcutta High Court)
Date-24th February 2023
Sub- Whether provisions of Section 50C can be applied when the immovable property is compulsorily acquired by the Government? Whether the definition of transfer u/s 2(47) can be considered for applying Section 50C or only when the transfer involves payment of stamp duty that the provisions of Section 50C comes into play?

The Division bench of calcutta high court in this case was considering the claim of department to apply Section 50C when the land in question was acquired by the Government and compensation was given and there was no stamp duty payable. The court noted that this was not a case of transaction between two private parties where there can be room to suspect. Moreover, Justice Hiranmoy Bhattacharya penned down a concurring but separate reasoning on this issue by bringing out the finer distinction between the language of Section 50C and Section 2(47) by holding that the term “transfer” used in Section 50C has to be given a restricted meaning and the same do not have a wider connotation so as to include all kinds of transfer as contemplated under Section 2(47) of the Act and accordingly it was held that the provisions of Section 50C shall be applicable in cases where transfer of the capital asset has to be effected only upon payment of stamp duty.

This judgement will be helpful in dealing with cases where the Government is one of the party in relation to property deals.

Ramesh Patodia
26-02-2023