This case deals with the taxability of compensation paid to ...

Land acquisition compensation tax exemption disparity: Court urges reform for equal treatment of farmers.

Case Laws     Income Tax

November 7, 2024

This case deals with the taxability of compensation paid to landowners for land acquisition. The court held that u/s 96 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (2013 Act), the compensation paid to land-losers is exempted from income tax levy. However, this exemption is not available to those whose lands were acquired under other statutes like the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Act 1966. The court observed that this creates an apparent hostile discrimination against land-losers under other statutes, as the compensation package under the 2013 Act is more attractive. The court urged the Central Government to address this issue and extend the tax exemption benefit to all land-losers, regardless of the statute under which their land was acquired, to assuage the grievance of land-losing farmers. The appeals were allowed, and the writ petitions of land-losers were dismissed.

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