Vinaya Sharma v. Asst. CIT (2025) 130 ITR 738 (Jaipur)(Trib.)

S.10 (1) : Agricultural income-Capital asset-Agricultural land-Land situated within Gram Panchayat-Population below prescribed limit-Rural agricultural land not a capital asset-Estimation-Agricultural operations established by revenue records-Absence of regular books-Fair estimation of income justified.[S. 2(14)(iii),132(4), 153A]

The assessee claimed that the land sold during the year was rural agricultural land and, therefore, not a capital asset. The lower authorities rejected the claim on the ground that the land was situated within a specified distance from the municipal limits. The Tribunal held that the land was situated within the jurisdiction of a Gram Panchayat having a population of only 382 persons and not within the jurisdiction of any municipality or municipal corporation. Since the conditions prescribed under section 2(14) were not satisfied, the land did not constitute a capital asset and the capital gains arising from its transfer were not chargeable to tax.  The Assessing Officer treated the agricultural income declared by the assessee as income from other sources for want of supporting vouchers and records. The Tribunal held that agricultural operations were duly established by Khasra Girdawari and other revenue records showing cultivation of crops on the land. Since maintenance of regular books is not statutorily required for agricultural activities, agricultural income has to be fairly estimated where complete vouchers are not available. Considering the irrigated land and crops cultivated, the Tribunal estimated the agricultural income at ₹1.50 lakh and deleted the addition made by the Assessing Officer (AY. 2015-16).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*