2017 (3) TMI 682 - AT - Income Tax

Invocation of provisions of section 50B - slump sale - Held that - CIT-A having categorically concluded that the adoption of slump sale provisions us/ 50B of the Act by the ld AO is not the correct approach, further proceeded to uphold the computation of Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) after granting relief to the extent of ₹ 7,76,000/- alone. The facts stated herein remain undisputed and hence the same are not reiterated for the sake of brevity. We find that this is a case of simple retirement of the assessee from a partnership firm for which he received consideration of ₹ 50,00,000/- against his investment made thereon. It is not in dispute that he had invested ₹ 52,76,000/- in the firm. Hence the resultant capital loss of ₹ 2,76,000/- had to be disallowed in the memo of income by the assessee. The assessee had rightly treated the loss on sale of ₹ 2,76,000/- in his profit and loss account but had omitted to disallow the same in the memo of income. This is the only mistake committed by the assessee in our considered opinion. We find that the lower authorities had completely misdirected themselves by erroneously applying the provisions of section 50B of the Act by taking into account proportionate liabilities (which are not related to the cold storage plant) and ignoring the fact that those liabilities are still reflected in the balance sheet as on 31.3.2009. Accordingly, we direct the ld AO to disallow ₹ 2,76,000/- being capital loss in the assessment and reframe the same accordingly. Accordingly, the grounds raised by the assessee are partly allowed.

Issues Involved:
1. Applicability of Section 50B of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
2. Determination of Net Worth for computing Capital Gains.
3. Validity of treating the transaction as a Slump Sale.
4. Appropriate computation of Long Term Capital Gain (LTCG) or Loss.

Issue-wise Detailed Analysis:

1. Applicability of Section 50B of the Income-tax Act, 1961:
The central issue in the appeal was whether the CIT(A) was justified in upholding the invocation of provisions of Section 50B of the Act. The assessee contended that Section 50B, which deals with the taxation of capital gains in the case of a slump sale, was inapplicable. The Tribunal noted that the CIT(A) had concluded that the adoption of slump sale provisions under Section 50B by the AO was not the correct approach. The assessee's transaction was characterized as a simple retirement from the partnership firm, and the consideration received should not have been treated as a slump sale.

2. Determination of Net Worth for computing Capital Gains:
The AO had computed the capital gains under Section 50B by determining the net worth of the asset after reducing proportionate liabilities. The CIT(A) accepted the cost of acquisition and improvement of the cold storage plant at ?52,76,000/-. However, the Tribunal found that the AO's method of reducing personal liabilities to determine net worth was incorrect. It was emphasized that these liabilities were personal and unrelated to the cold storage plant, and they were still reflected in the balance sheet as on 31.3.2009.

3. Validity of treating the transaction as a Slump Sale:
The Tribunal observed that the lower authorities had misdirected themselves by erroneously applying the provisions of Section 50B. The transaction was not a slump sale but a retirement from the partnership firm, where the assessee received ?50,00,000/- against his investment. The Tribunal reiterated that the lower authorities' approach to treat the transaction as a slump sale was incorrect.

4. Appropriate computation of Long Term Capital Gain (LTCG) or Loss:
The assessee had invested ?52,76,000/- in the firm and received ?50,00,000/- upon retirement, resulting in a capital loss of ?2,76,000/-. The Tribunal noted that the assessee had correctly treated this loss in the profit and loss account but had omitted to disallow it in the memo of income. The Tribunal directed the AO to disallow the capital loss of ?2,76,000/- and reframe the assessment accordingly. The final determination of LTCG by the CIT(A) was ?29,51,532/- after granting relief for the cost of acquisition and improvement.

Conclusion:
The Tribunal concluded that the lower authorities had erred in applying Section 50B and directed the AO to disallow the capital loss of ?2,76,000/- in the assessment. The appeal was partly allowed, correcting the misapplication of slump sale provisions and ensuring the correct computation of capital gains or losses.

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