2014 (5) TMI 1085 - AT - Income Tax

Reference to DVO - Held that - Assessing Officer has no power to make the reference to the DVO for the A.Y. 2007-08 by invoking u/s. 55A of the Income-tax Act for determining fair market value as on 01-04-1981 on the opinion that FMV must be less than as declared by the assessee. - Decided against revenue

Summary

Issues:
1. Challenge to deletion of addition by Assessing Officer
2. Non-reference to DVO under Sec. 55A
3. Justification of value adopted by Assessing Officer
4. Relevance of DVO report in determining FMV

Analysis:

Issue 1 - Challenge to deletion of addition by Assessing Officer:
The appeal was filed by the Revenue against the order of the Ld. CIT(A)-II, Pune for A.Y. 2007-08. The Revenue contended that the Assessing Officer erred in deleting the addition made by accepting the assessee's claim that no reference can be made if the declared value exceeds the Fair Market Value. The Ld. CIT(A) held that the Assessing Officer was not justified in making the reference under Sec. 55A as the fair market value declared by the assessee was higher than the value determined by the Assessing Officer, contrary to the provisions of the Act.

Issue 2 - Non-reference to DVO under Sec. 55A:
The Revenue argued that no reference was made to the DVO under Sec. 55A, which the Ld. CIT(A) failed to appreciate. However, it was found that the Assessing Officer's reference to the DVO was not justified as the fair market value declared by the assessee was higher than the value determined by the Assessing Officer, rendering the reference unnecessary.

Issue 3 - Justification of value adopted by Assessing Officer:
The Assessing Officer adopted a lower fair market value for a property sold by the assessee, leading to a dispute. The Ld. CIT(A) found that the Assessing Officer's valuation was not in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 55A, as the fair market value declared by the assessee was higher. The Ld. CIT(A) emphasized that the Assessing Officer's reliance on a different case's valuation report was inappropriate, and the valuation report provided by the assessee should have been considered.

Issue 4 - Relevance of DVO report in determining FMV:
The Revenue contended that the DVO's report should be considered in determining the Fair Market Value. However, the Ld. CIT(A) held that the Assessing Officer's reliance on the DVO's report was misplaced as the fair market value declared by the assessee was higher, making the reference to the DVO unnecessary.

In conclusion, the Tribunal dismissed the Revenue's appeal, upholding the Ld. CIT(A)'s order. The Tribunal found that the Assessing Officer had no authority to refer the matter to the DVO under Sec. 55A as the fair market value declared by the assessee was higher, in line with the decisions of the jurisdictional High Court and other relevant legal precedents.