The CBDT has issued Circular No.6/2016 dated 29.02.2016 in which it has clarified the issue of taxability of surplus on sale of shares and securities. The CBDT has explained the circumstances in which such surplus can be assessed as capital gains or business income. The said instructions have been issued in order to reduce litigation
Circular No.6/2016
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
North Block, New Delhi, the 29th of February, 2016Sub: Issue of taxability of surplus on sale of shares and securities — Capital Gains or Business Income — Instructions in order to reduce litigation – reg.-
Sub-section (14) of Section 2 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (`Act’) defines the term “capital asset” to include property of any kind held by an assessee, whether or not connected with his business or profession, but does not include any stock-in-trade or personal assets subject to certain exceptions. As regards shares and other securities, the same can be held either as capital assets or stock-in-trade/ trading assets or both. Determination of the character of a particular investment in shares or other securities, whether the same is in the nature of a capital asset or stock-in-trade, is essentially a fact-specific determination and has led to a lot of uncertainty and litigation in the past.
2. Over the years, the courts have laid down different parameters to distinguish the shares held as investments from the shares held as stock-in-trade. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (‘CBDT’) has also, through Instruction No. 1827, dated August 31, 1989 and Circular No. 4 of 2007 dated June 15, 2007, summarized the said principles for guidance of the field formations.
3. Disputes, however, continue to exist on the application of these principles to the facts of an individual case since the taxpayers find it difficult to prove the intention in acquiring such shares/securities. In this background, while recognizing that no universal principal in absolute terms can be laid down to decide the character of income from sale of shares and securities (i.e. whether the same is in the nature of capital gain or business income), CBDT realizing that major part of shares/securities transactions takes place in respect of the listed ones and with a view to reduce litigation and uncertainty in the matter, in partial modification to the aforesaid Circulars, further instructs that the Assessing Officers in holding whether the surplus generated from sale of listed shares or other securities would be treated as Capital Gain or Business Income, shall take into account the following-
a) Where the assessee itself, irrespective of the period of holding the listed shares and securities, opts to treat them as stock-in-trade, the income arising from transfer of such shares/securities would be treated as its business income,
b) In respect of listed shares and securities held for a period of more than 12 months immediately preceding the date of its transfer, if the assessee desires to treat the income arising from the transfer thereof as Capital Gain, the same shall not be put to dispute by the Assessing Officer. However, this stand, once taken by the assessee in a particular Assessment Year, shall remain applicable in subsequent Assessment Years also and the taxpayers shall not be allowed to adopt a different/contrary stand in this regard in subsequent years;
c) In all other cases, the nature of transaction (i.e. whether the same is in the nature of capital gain or business income) shall continue to be decided keeping in view the aforesaid Circulars issued by the CBDT.
4. It is, however, clarified that the above shall not apply in respect of such transactions in shares/securities where the genuineness of the transaction itself is questionable, such as bogus claims of Long Term Capital Gain / Short Term Capital Loss or any other sham transactions.
5. It is reiterated that the above principles have been formulated with the sole objective of reducing litigation and maintaining consistency in approach on the issue of treatment of income derived from transfer of shares and securities. All the relevant provisions of the Act shall continue to apply on the transactions involving transfer of shares and securities.
(Rohit Garg)
Deputy Secretary Government of India
F.No.225/12/2016-ITA-11
whether all BTST can be classified as STCG ? if the assessee desires irrespective of frequency. BTST never take it to dmat account instead it remains in broker’s pool account.
This circular does not solve the problem of litigation. The major problem is that the executive wing of the Government viz., CBDT is not toeing the line of Legislature. The intention in introducing the legislation is to encourage retail participants in Capital market. But the litigation by Income-tax has discouraged them. Even now the Board does not specifically clarify that go withe the entries of the tax payer whether it is Stock in trade or Capital asset. Only with regard to shares held for more than 12 months it clarified that it should be held as capital asset unless chosen otherwise by the tax payer. the problem actually comes with shares held for lesser period than 12 months, like for weeks or few months. That issue ought to have been clarified. The CBDT really is not interested in resolving the issue. This circular is only an eye wash to please the political bosses.
OFFHAND
The reiteration of “the sole objective of reducing litigation and maintaining consistency in approach on the issue of treatment of income derived from transfer of shares and securities” (para 5) does not seem to make any sense; should the riders in 3.(c) and 4.,be closely read and mindfully kept in focus. For, those Riders, for all practical purposes, do not tally but blatantly militate against or whittle down whatever be the hope for reduced litigation as held out by the ‘principles’ set out in 3.(a)and (b).
For a better appreciation of the above response, the earlier posted comments @ http://www.itatonline.org/…/dear-namo-walk-the-talk-here-a…/ may provide helpful clues.