1981 (8) TMI 33 - HC - Income Tax

Summary

Issues Involved:

1. Whether the lands in question were agricultural lands on the date of their transfer.
2. Whether the Tribunal was justified in permitting the department to raise an additional ground regarding the registration of the instrument of transfer.
3. Whether the transfers in question were effected before March 1, 1970, as contemplated in section 47(viii) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
4. Whether the Tribunal was right in not accepting the assessee's contention that the transfer was effected on the dates of execution of the sale deeds.

Detailed Analysis:

1. Whether the lands in question were agricultural lands on the date of their transfer:

The Tribunal initially held that the lands were agricultural based on mixed questions of law and fact. However, the High Court disagreed, applying the principles from CIT v. Sarifabibi Mohamed Ibrahim [1982] 136 ITR 621. The court emphasized several factors: the main source of income of the assessee was from non-agricultural sources, the land was situated within municipal limits, and the land was sold to a non-agriculturist for non-agricultural purposes at a high price indicative of its potential for development rather than agriculture. The court concluded that the land was not agricultural despite being recorded as such in revenue records and yielding minimal agricultural income.

2. Whether the Tribunal was justified in permitting the department to raise the additional ground regarding the registration of the instrument of transfer:

The Tribunal permitted the Revenue to raise a new argument based on the amendment introduced by the Finance Act of 1970, which was not urged before the ITO or the AAC. The High Court upheld this decision, stating that the Tribunal has wide powers to permit new grounds if they pertain to the same subject matter and do not require further fact-finding. The court referred to the principles in Hukumchand Mills Ltd. v. CIT [1967] 63 ITR 232 (SC) and CIT v. Mahalakshmi Textile Mills Ltd. [1967] 66 ITR 710 (SC), which allow the Tribunal to consider new legal arguments that support the ultimate decision of the lower authorities.

3. Whether the transfers in question were effected before March 1, 1970, as contemplated in section 47(viii) of the Income-tax Act, 1961:

The High Court examined whether the date of execution or the date of registration was crucial for determining the transfer date. It concluded that the transfer was not effected until the document was registered, despite being signed before March 1, 1970. The court referred to the Supreme Court's decisions in Ram Saran Lall v. Domini Kuer, AIR 1961 SC 1747, and Hiralal Agrawal v. Rampadarath Singh, AIR 1969 SC 244, which emphasized that a sale is complete only upon registration. Therefore, the transfers were deemed to have been effected after March 1, 1970.

4. Whether the Tribunal was right in not accepting the assessee's contention that the transfer was effected on the dates of execution of the sale deeds:

The High Court rejected the assessee's contention that the transfer was effected on the date of execution due to the retrospective effect of registration under section 47 of the Registration Act. The court clarified that section 47 applies to the priority of competing documents and does not affect the completion date of a transfer for tax purposes. It reiterated that the transfer is complete only upon registration, aligning with the decisions in Ram Saran Lall and Hiralal Agrawal.

Conclusion:

The High Court answered the questions as follows:
- The Tribunal was not justified in holding that the lands were agricultural (negative for the assessee).
- The Tribunal was justified in permitting the department to raise the additional ground (affirmative for the Revenue).
- The transfers were not effected before March 1, 1970 (negative for the Revenue).
- The transfer was not effected on the dates of execution of the sale deeds (negative for the Revenue).

The court ultimately ruled against the assessee on the primary issue of the land's character, making the other questions largely moot. The application for a certificate of fitness to appeal to the Supreme Court was refused.