Facts
The assessee initially declared a higher income in the original return but revised it downwards, claiming a deduction under Section 54 of the Income Tax Act for long-term capital gains (LTCG) arising from the sale of land. The Assessing Officer (AO) disallowed the deduction, stating that the asset sold was land, not a residential house, and that the assessee failed to provide sufficient evidence of constructing a new residential house.
Held
The Tribunal held that the assessee failed to substantiate their claim for deduction under Section 54 of the Income Tax Act. Both the AO and the CIT(A) found that the assessee did not provide adequate evidence regarding the construction of a residential house, such as approvals, plans, or proof of payment, and that the asset sold (land) was not a residential house, which is a prerequisite for the deduction.
Key Issues
Whether the assessee is eligible for deduction under Section 54 for capital gains arising from the sale of land, and whether sufficient evidence was provided to prove the construction of a new residential house.
Sections Cited
253, 250, 143(3), 143(3A), 143(3B), 54, 143(2), 142(1), 246A
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, INDORE BENCH, INDORE
Per Paresh M Joshi, J.M.:
This is an Appeal filed by the Assessee under section 253 of
the income tax Act 1961,[ herein after referred to as the Act
for the sake of brevity] before this tribunal as & by way of a
second Appeal. The Assessee is aggrieved by the order
bearing No:-ITBA/NFAC/S/250/2024-25/1072946896(1)
dated 05.02.2025 passed by the Ld. CIT (A) u/s 250 of the
Act, which is herein after referred to as the “Impugned
order”. The Relevant Assessment year is 2018-19 and the
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corresponding previous year period is from 01.04.2017 to
31.03.2018.
Factual Matrix
2.1 That as and by way of an Assessment order made u/s
143(3) rws 143(3A) &143(3B) of the Act, the total income of
the Assessee was computed & assessed at Rs. 62,83,948/-
.The total income as per the return of income was at
Rs.5,86,260/-. The addition of Rs.56, 97,688/- was made.
That the aforesaid assessment order bears No.
ITBA/AST/S/143(3)/2020-21/103089577(1) & that the same
is dated 23.02.2021 which is herein after referred to as the
“Impugned Assessment Order”
2.2 That the assessee filed the return of income originally
for the assessment year 2018-19 on 30.08.2018 admitting
an income of Rs. 61,74,960/-. Subsequently the assessee
filed revised return of Income on 01.09.2018 admitting an
income of Rs. 5, 86,260/-. The revised return of income
was selected for scrutiny and notices u/s 143(2) and 142(1)
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were issued and the assessee furnished the information
called for.
2.3 That during the year assessee sold a property for a
consideration of Rs. 1,59,78,002/-and after deducting the
cost of acquisition at Rs. 1,02,80,314/- arrived at the Long
Term Capital Gains of Rs. 56,97,688/-. In the original
return of income, assessee offered the Long Term Capital
gains to tax. However, in the revised return of income, the
assessee claimed the same as deduction u/s.54 of the IT
Act. When the assessee was asked to substantiate the
deduction claimed u/s.54 in the revised return, the assessee
stated that the deduction was claimed in the revised return
after finding that the same was not claimed in the original
return due to clerical error. In the Impugned Assessment
Order following is recorded which we reproduce as below:-
(a) “Coming to the facts, the assessee sold immovable
property viz., land on 18-12-2017 and received an
amount of Rs.1,59,78,002/-, The said land was
purchased by him during the financial year 2015-16
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for a consideration of Rs.96,00,000/- and the
indexed cost of acquisition of the same worked out to
Rs. 1,02,80,314/- and the resultant capital gains
Rs.56,97,688/-. worked out to Against this, the
assessee claimed deduction u/s.54 claiming that he
has purchased a plot on 31-07-2017 for a
consideration of Rs.52,45,600/- and also stating vide
reply dated 31-01-21 that he constructed a house of
approximate 750 sq. ft. on it and the payment of Rs.
5,75,000 is made to the contractor. Though he
stated that the copy of construction agreement is
attached herewith, but no such agreement was
furnished by the assessee.”
(b) “The information furnished by the assessee is
carefully considered. In order to avail the benefits of
deduction u/s 54, the long term capital asset sold
should be a residential house whereas the asset sold
by the assessee is land. Further, in order to avail the
deduction u/s.54, assessee should within a period of
one year before or two years after the date on which
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the transfer took place purchased, or has within a
period of three years after that date constructed, one
residential house in India. However, in this case, the
new asset purchased is land and though the assessee
claimed that he has constructed a house of
approximate 750 S.Ft and made a payment of
Rs.5,75,000/-, no evidence regarding the
construction viz., approval from revenue authorities
for construction, plan, proof of payment, alleged
construction agreement etc, were furnished to
substantiate his claim. Also, it is seen from the
property purchased that the same was purchased
jointly with one Sri/Ms.Madhu Dalora whereas the
capital asset sold by him was not held jointly. It is
also pertinent to mention that the assessee admitted
Long Term Capital gains in the original return and
also paid advance tax and self-assessment tax and
subsequently claimed deduction u/s.54 and
consequent refund of the taxes paid in the revised
return.”
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(c) “A show cause notice dated 12-02-21 was issued
proposing the above disallowance and in reply letter
dated 23-2-21 assessee while agreeing that the
property purchased was in joint names, stated that
he has constructed a 750 S.Ft. house on the said plot
and enclosed a copy of agreement stated to be
entered on 07.01.2018. However, as discussed in
detail in the foregoing paragraphs, the assessee is not
eligible for the deduction u/s.54 claimed as he has
not furnished any corrobatratory evidence regarding
the construction viz., approval from revenue
authorities for construction, plan, proof of payment
to the contractor etc. and the property was not
purchased in his name but jointly.”
In view of the above, it is held that the assessee is not
eligible for the deduction claimed u/s.54 and the same is
rejected.”
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2.4 That the assessee being aggrieved by the aforesaid
“Impugned Assessment Order” prefers the first appeal
u/s 246A of the act before the Ld. CIT (A) who by the
“Impugned Order” has dismissed the first appeal of the
assessee on the grounds and reasons stated therein. The
core grounds and reasons for the dismissal of the first appeal
was as under:-
“A mere perusal of this only piece of evidence submitted by the appellant indicates that the same is an agreement merely made on simple plain paper and is it totally devoid of specifics and supporting/corroborating details and evidences. In other words, this sole piece of evidence in itself cannot be considered sufficient to establish the claim of the appellant w.r.t. construction of house by making payment of Rs.575000/-. Leave aside other details or any third party and independent evidence, the appellant has not even specified nor submitted any evidences w.r.t. any particulars of the stated payments of Rs.575000/-. In this backdrop, it is mentioned that there is full force in the observations of the Ld. AO i.e. the assessee had failed to furnish any evidence regarding the construction, viz., approval from revenue authorities for construction, plan, proof of payment, alleged construction agreement etc. to substantiate his clalm. Needless to mention that such claim of the appellant is purely evidence-based claim and ought to have been substantiated and established by submission of the relevant details as well as supporting evidences. In his submission made during the present appellate proceedings though the appellant has submitted that the Ld. AO never demanded the proof of payments, plan, sanction letter, etc during the assessment proceedings and without asking for the same he has assumed and disallowed the exemption claimed but the fact remains that in the present appellate proceedings also the appellant has not submitted such details even though as per the statule the primary onus is on the person making claim of exemption/deduction
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to substantiate such claim by submitting all relevant details dully supported by cogent and tangible evidences. However, the fact remains that the appellant had squarely failed to discharge this onus at the time of subject assessment proceedings and the position also DID NOT improve during the present appellate proceedings. In addition to this, it is also noted that the Ld. AO has clearly recorded in the impugned order that the exemption u/s 54 is applicable in those cases in which the Long Term Capital Asset [original asset] which has been transferred is residential house and that in the present case it is land. Inspite of such categorical recording by the Ld. AO in the impugned order, the submission of the appellant made during the course of present appellate proceedings is totally silent on this issue.
In view of the above it is clear that during the course of the assessment proceedings as well as the present appellate proceedings the appellant has squarely failed to substantiate his claim of having constructed a house in terms of provisions of section 54 on the said plot of land which is sine-qua-non for the considering his eligibility w.r.t. claim of exemption u/s 54 and his submission is also silent on the primary issue i.e. exemption u/s 54 is available only in respect of transfer of original asset i.e. residential house and not on plot of land, hence, no interference is called for in the impugned order and there is now no further need to examine other reasons mentioned by the Ld. AO while denying the claim of exemption u/s 54 vide the impugned order.
Hence, there is no reason to interfere with the conclusion of the Ld. AO in this regard. Accordingly all such contentions of the appellant fail and resultantly, the corresponding ground does NOT succeed and is thus DISMISSED.
In the result, the present appeal is DISMISSED.”
2.5 That the assessee being aggrieved by the “Impugned
Order” has preferred the instant second appeal before this
tribunal and has raised the following grounds of appeal in
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the form no. 36 against the “Impugned Order” which are as
under:-
“1. Rejection of exemption u/s 54 and Addition of income by Rs. 56,97,688 by rejection of exemption is unjustified, illegal and bad in law.”
Record of Hearing
3.1 The hearing in the matter took place before this tribunal
on 06.04.2026 when the Ld. AR for and on behalf of the
assessee appeared before us and interalia contended that the
“Impugned Order” is bad in law, illegal and not proper. It
therefore deserves to be set aside. The Ld. AR has placed on
the record of this tribunal a written submission dated
11.11.2025 which is reproduced by us as below:-
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3.2 The Ld. AR has also placed on the record of this tribunal
a submission dated 10.02.2026 whereby copy of Nagar
Nigam [Municipal Corporation] property tax receipt and copy
of electricity bill pertaining to the relevant residential
premises are enclosed.
3.3 In addition to above two documents (supra) the Ld. AR
has placed on the record of this tribunal an additional
submission enclosing a letter dated 12.03.2026 issued by
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Shri Gopal Vyas Asst. Revenue inspector, Zone-22, Ward
No.- 36, Indore Municipal Corporation and so also the
assessee letter dated 18.02.2026.
3.4 Basis above documents it was contended by the Ld. AR
that the assessee had sold a long term capital asset on
18.12.2017 i.e. immovable property vis land for Rs.
1,59,78,002/-. The said land was purchased by him during
the financial year 2015-16 for a consideration of Rs.
96,00,000/- and indexed cost of acquisition of the same
worked out to Rs. 1,02,80,314/- and the resultant capital
gain worked out to Rs. 56,97,688/- against this, the
assessee claimed deduction u/s 54 of the act claiming that
he has purchased a plot on 31.07.2017 for a consideration of
Rs. 52,45,600/- and had constructed a house of
approximately 750 sq. feet on it and that payment of Rs.
5,75,000/- was made to the contractor for the said purpose.
Our attention was then invited to page 31 of submissions
dated 10.02.2026 which is a copy of agreement dated
07.01.2018 between the assessee and the contractor
whereby in the recital it is stated that owner is willing to
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construct a small house of 750 sq. feet on the plot of land
situated at plot no.-96, “Pinnacle D Grande” village
Nipania, Teh. and District Indore MP and that the
contractor has agreed to construct the said works for Rs.
5,75,000/-. Other details are provided in the said agreement.
The said agreement is a two pager document at pages 31 to
Our attention was then invited to page no. 33 wherein
sum of Rs. 5 Lakh was debited on 02.07.2018 from the
assesse bank A/c in favour of “Jagdish Ajmera” the
contractor. The Ld. AR then spoke about the original ITR and
the revised ITR. It was stated that since refund arose due to
revised return the matter was taken up for the scrutiny
assessment. The Ld. AO in the “Impugned Assessment
Order” has stated that no agreement between the assessee
and contractor is placed on record by the asseseee. It is also
recorded in the “Impugned Assessment Order” that in order
to avail the benefit of deduction u/s 54, the long term capital
asset sold should be a residential house whereas the asset
sold by the assessee is a land. However now, the agreement
between the assessee and the contractor is placed on record
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and so also payment of Rs. 5 Lakh to the contractor (supra).
The Ld. AR has placed reliance on copy of Nagar Nigam
Property Tax receipt dated 01.01.2018 in support of his
contention that a house was constructed on the land
purchased and so also electricity bill dated 06.11.2018
[page 34&35]. It was prayed that the Impugned Order should
be set aside. Per contra Ld. DR for and the Revenue stated
that the agreement between the owner and the contractor for
the construction of the house is dated 07.01.2018 basis page
Mere construction agreement perse is not sufficient
exercise in law. House/ construction should complete. The
Ld. DR for the Revenue emphasised that there is no material
on the record that the site in issue was cleared for and that
all the plans are all cleared by competent authorities. No
building house approvals and plans [drawings and sketches]
are on record of the competent authorities duly approved. No
completion certificate is too on the record of the competent
authorities. Our attention was then invited to page 34 which
is a copy of the electricity bill dated 06.11.2018 from the
reading of the same it was pointed out that the electricity
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connection was provided for purpose of only the
“construction of house” and that the electricity bill is not
for domestic electric connection for use as light, fans etc.
It is common fact that during the construction phase the
temporary electric connections are provided by the electric
company’s. The domestic consumption of electricity for a
house therefore cannot be inferred basis electric bill page
34 as same is for the purpose of the construction of the
house. Further no water bill, garbage bill etc. in respect of
house are on the records. Basis page 20 [registry], it was
emphasised that the land measures 5590 sq. ft. i.e. plot
no.-96, “Pinnacle D Grande” colony. The Ld. DR then placed
the reliance on the Judgement of the Hon’ble P&H High
Court in case of Ashok Syal v/s CIT, CC Jalandhar reported
in (2012) 24 Taxmann.com 274 (P & H) and laid emphasis on
Para 8 & 9. Reliance was also placed on the Judgement of
the Hon’ble Delhi High Court in case of Sandeep Hooda v/s
PCIT reported in (2024) 169 Taxmann.com 20 (Delhi) and
laid emphasis on Para 18. It was then submitted that the
factum of the investment is only the transfer of money
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to the contractor and that there is no iota of evidence
for a house. There is absolutely nothing before the Ld. CIT
(A) and the Ld. AO in respect of house. Electricity bill is too
temporary one as pointed out earlier. There is a very strong
doubt whether the assessee is living or not at this stage of
the argument during the course of the hearing. The Ld. AR
for the assessee at this stage promptly rebutted that the
house/ residential building is in habitable state by the
assessee. The Ld. DR then promptly answered what is the
proof that the assessee is living in a habitable house and
what is the material on record. The only material which is on
record is agreement between the owner and the contractor to
construct a house and payment of Rs. 5 lakh through
banking channel, though the assessee has claimed the
amount of Rs. 5.75 Lakh expended on house construction. A
little later the Ld. DR finally prayed that the “Impugned
Order” be upheld and/or in the alternative the matter
should be remanded back to the file of the Ld. AO for a
through ‘inquiry’ and the ‘due verification’ basis documents
so filed before this tribunal with full and complete liberty to
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the Ld. AO to make a further and detailed inquiry on the
entire subject matter. The Ld. AR then promptly re-joined
and submitted that he has no objection if matter is
remanded back to the Ld. AO for inquiry and due verification
as suggested by the Ld. DR . Hearing was then concluded
and closed.
Observations Findings & conclusions
4.1 We have to decide the legality, validity and proprietary of the
“impugned order” basis records of the case & the rival
submission canvassed before us.
4.2 We have carefully perused the records of the case and have
heard the submissions.
4.3 We basis records of the case and after hearing and upon
examining the rival contentions of the Ld. AR and the Ld. DR
canvassed before us, are of the considered opinion that in
the “Impugned Assessment Order” the Ld. AO initially has
held that the new asset purchased is land, though the
assessee has claimed that he has constructed a house of
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approximately 750 sq. feet on it and made a payment of Rs.
5,75,000/- however there is no evidence regarding the
construction of house viz the approval from the Revenue
authorities for the construction, plan, proof of payments, the
alleged construction agreement etc. were furnished to
substantiate the claim.
4.4 We further observe that in the “Impugned Assessment
Order” it is further observed & held by the Ld. AO that in
response to the show cause notice dated 10.02.2021 wherein
the assessee was put to notice & was called upon to show
cause as to why the disallowance should not be made
against him the assessee vide reply dated 23.02.2021 has
stated amongst others that he has constructed a 750 square
feet house on the said plot. The assessee is not eligible for
the deduction u/s 54 claimed as no corroborative evidence
regarding the construction of house viz approval from the
revenue authorities for the construction of the house, plans,
proof of payment to the contractor etc are on record as the
same is not filed in support of claim. Finally in the
“Impugned Assessment Order” the claim u/s 54 is rejected.
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4.5 In view of above observation of the Ld. AO in the
“Impugned Assessment Order” we are of the considered
opinion that for a claim u/s 54 of the Act the burden for
proof/onus of proof is on the assessee & the Ld. AO at the
original stage of the assessment has rightly held as above as
no material evidence was before him in support of
construction of a house of 750 sq. feet.
4.6 Before the Ld. CIT(A) in the form No. 35 reference &
reliance is placed on the construction agreement dated
07.01.2018 which is reproduced by the Ld. CIT(A) in the
impugned order on the internal page 7 & 8 which is a
agreement between the owner [Assessee] & contractor for a
construction of a house.
4.7 We also observe that the assessee during the course of
the first appellate proceedings internal page 3 of the
impugned order made ‘e’ submissions on 17.08.2023 where
in, it is pleaded that the Ld. AO has not verified the
documents of purchase of Plot [Plot No. 96 pinnacle city] &
the construction of small house on the said plot. It is also
avered that the Ld. AO has never demanded that proof
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payments, Plan, sanction letter etc during the course of the
assessment proceedings & even without asking for the same
the Ld. AO has disallowed deduction u/s 54 of the Act,
which is very unfortunate & illegal. The copy of the registry
dated 02.08.2017 copy of construction agreement dated
07.01.2018 were only enclosed before the Ld. CIT (A).
Therefore only the two documents i.e. the copy of registry
dated 02.08.2017 & copy of construction agreement dated
07.01.2018 were before the Ld. CIT (A). [Internal page 3 of
CIT(A) order & para 2.4(supra)]
4.8 We observe that apart from above two documents the Ld.
CIT (A) on page 4 of the “Impugned Order” has observed
that the assessee had not submitted other documents
meaning there by the approvals from the revenue authorities,
for the construction of a house, plans, sanction letter, proof
of payment to the contractor etc were not filed & submitted
before the first appellate authority despite averment in this
regard [Para 4.7 supra]. It is also observed by the Ld. CIT(A)
in the “Impugned Order” that a latest opportunity was too
afforded to the assessee vide communication dated
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12.12.2024 to which also the assessee did not submitted any
response & No adjournment request was made consequently
the Ld. CIT(A) drew an inference that save except the two
documents i.e. copy of registry dated 02.08.2017 & copy of
construction agreement dated 07.01.2018. No other
documents are being relied upon by the assessee.
4.9 We observe basis internal page 6,7,8 & 9 of the
“Impugned Order” the Ld. CIT(A) has held as follows:-
“Thus, it is evident that the Ld. AO has denied the claim of exemption u/s 54 on multiple counts, but the foremost moot point to be considered is whether the appellant has substantiated his claim w.r.t. construction of a house by making payment of Rs.575000/-. This is explained as under: There is no dispute that the matter relates to the claim of exemption of Rs.5697688/-u/s 54 of the Act and the extract of relevant provisions of the said section are as reproduced below: 54. (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), where, in the case of an assessee being an individual or a Hindu undivided family, the capital gain arises from the transfer of a long-term capital asset [***], being buildings or lands appurtenant thereto, and being a residential house, the income of which is chargeable under the head “Income from house property” (hereafter in this section referred to as the original asset), and the assessee has within a period of one year before or two years after the date on which the transfer took place purchased, or has within a period of three years after that date constructed, a residential house, then, instead of the capital gain being charged to income-tax as income of the previous year in which the transfer took place, it shall be dealt with in accordance with the following provisions of this section, that is to say,— xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Thus, the above provisions unambiguously make it clear that the exemption u/s 54 would be available only in case the corresponding
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investment is made in purchase/construction of house, subject to other
conditions.
There is also no dispute on the fact that major part of this exemption
claimed at Rs.5697688/- pertains to the purchase cost of land i.e.
Rs.5122688/- [Rs.5697688/-(-)Rs.575000/-] as the same is directly
forthcoming from the appellant's own submission that he had
constructed a house on said plot of land of around 750 sq. ft. by making
payment of Rs.575000/-
In other words, the entire claim of exemption claimed u/s 54 of the Act
of Rs.5697688/-solely, wholly and necessarily hinges on the
submission of the appellant that he had constructed a house on the
said plot of land by making payment of Rs.575000/- and hence it is
imperative to examine and ascertain if the assessee-appellant has been
able to substantiate such claim.
In this respect, to support such claim, during the course of the present
appellate proceedings the appellant has submitted copy of agreement,
the relevant extract of which is as reproduced below:
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A mere perusal of this only plece of evidence submitted by the appellant indicates that the same is an agreement merely made on simple plain paper and is it totally devoid of specifics and supporting/corroborating details and evidences. In other words, this sole piece of evidence in itself cannot be considered sufficient to establish the claim of the appellant w.r.t. construction of house by making payment of Rs.575000/-, Leave aside other details or any third party and independent evidence, the appellant has not even specified nor submitted any evidences w.r.t. any particulars of the stated payments of Rs.575000/-, In this backdrop. it is mentioned that there is full force in the observations of the Ld. AO Le. the assessee had failed to furnish any evidence regarding the construction viz., approval from revenue authorities for construction, plan, proof of payment, alleged construction agreement etc. to substantiate his claim. Needless to mention that such claim of the appellant is purely evidence-based claim and ought to have been substantiated and established by submission of the relevant details as well as supporting evidences. In his submission made during the present appellate proceedings though the appellant has submitted that the Ld. AO never demanded the proof of payments, plan, sanction letter, etc during the assessment proceedings and without asking for the same he has assumed and disallowed the exemption claimed but the fact remains that in the present appellate proceedings also the appellant has not submitted such details even though as per the statute the primary onus is on the person making claim of exemption/deduction to substantiate such claim by submitting all relevant details dully supported by cogent and tangible evidences. However, the fact remains that the appellant had squarely failed to discharge this onus at the time of subject assessment proceedings and the position also DID NOT improve during the present appellate proceedings. In addition to this, it is also noted that the Ld. AO has clearly recorded in the impugned order that the exemption u/s 54 is applicable in those cases in which the Long Term Capital Asset [original asset] which has been transferred is residential house and that in the present case it is land. Inspite of such categorical recording by the Ld. AO in the impugned order, the submission of the appellant made during the course of present appellate proceedings is totally silent on this issue. In view of the above it is clear that during the course of the assessment proceedings as well as the present appellate proceedings the appellant has squarely failed to substantiate his claim of having constructed a house in terms of provisions of section 54 on the said plot of land which is sine-qua-non for the
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considering his eligibility w.r.t. claim of exemption u/s 54 and his submission is also silent on the primary issue l.e. exemption u/s 54 is available only in respect of transfer of original asset i.e. residential house and not on plot of land, hence, no interference is called for in the impugned order and there is now no further need to examine other reasons mentioned by the Ld. AO while denying the claim of exemption u/s 54 vide the impugned order. Hence, there is no reason to interfere with the conclusion of the Ld. AO in this regard. Accordingly all such contentions of the appellant fail and resultantly, the corresponding ground does NOT succeed and is thus DISMISSED. 6. In the result, the present appeal is DISMISSED.”
We find No infirmity in the “Impugned Order”. However
now at page 34 a electricity bill dated 06.11.2018 is
produced before us which too has been strongly assailed by
the Ld. DR during the hearing as is recorded above i.e. for
the purpose of construction of house and not for domestic
use. This document is contrary to the submission of Ld. AR
during the hearing that house is a habitable one. Regular
electricity bills are not produced for the domestic use i.e.
lights & fan etc. as corroborative evidences. Another
document at page 35 is municipal tax receipt dated
01.01.2018 which was not in the existence at the original
stage as well as at the first appellate stage [& so also
electricity bill dated 06.11.2018]. Yet another piece of
evidence is letter dated 12.03.2026 of Shri Gopal Vyas Asst.
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Revenue inspector IMC Zone 22, ward – 18 stating that in
respect of Plot no 96 there is house/building of 750 sq. feet
in respect of which house tax for year 2018-19 is levied. We
also observe that on page 33 there is a bank statement of the
assessee were in it is claimed that on 02.07.2018 a debit of
Rs. 5 lakh is seen in favour of Jagdish Ajmera the contractor
who has been claimed as person who has constructed the
house admeasuring 750 sq. feet on the said plot no. 96
pinnacle city as a contractor.
4.10 We observe thus that the so called municipal tax receipt
dated 01.01.2018, electricity bill dated 06.11.2018, bank
statement from 15.2.18 to 5.7.18 of Assessee bearing A/c NO.
50100073560263, customer id no. 2374529 [P 33] are new &
additional evidences which were not before the Ld. AO at the
time of the original adjudication. Further we observe that for
the house admeasuring 750 sq. feet the plans, sanction letter
of competent authorities like IMC are not placed on record
despite making a grievance of same by the assessee as
recorded in the “Impugned Order” [para 4.7 & 2.4 (supra]
under these circumstances & facts we at the end of the
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hearing saw both the Ld. AR & the Ld. DR [In alternative
submission] were at least ad idem on the issue of remand
back to the file of the Ld. AO for De novo adjudication.
4.11 In the premises drawn by us we are of the considered
opinion that the “Impugned Order” deserves to be set aside
& matter should be remanded back to the file of the Ld. AO
on denovo basis so that he can pass a fresh order on merits
of the case. Accordingly we set aside the “Impugned Order”
as & by way of remand back to the file of the Ld. AO with a
direction to place before the Ld. AO the following documents
for due inquiry & due verification of the same which are
enumerated as under:-
(1) Copy of electricity bills
(2) Copy of Municipal tax receipts
(3) Copy of bank statement of assessee.
(4) Approved & sanctioned plans, Sanction letter of
Municipal authorities in respect of house admeasuring 750
sq. feet (supra).
(5) All other papers & documents showing that house is
habitable one.
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Note: - Above list is only illustrative and not exhaustive.
4.12 The assessee is directed to attend hearings as & when
fixed & to file reply & to furnish such details as may be
sought by the Ld. AO for purpose of due inquiry & due
verification so that correct income of the assessee is
computed & assessed as per law. The Ld. AO is directed to
pass a speaking & well-reasoned order basis merits of the
case.
5 Order
5.1 In the result-the Impugned order is set Aside as and by way
of remand back to the file of the Ld. AO with directions as
aforesaid.
5.2. The Appeal of the assessee is allowed for statistical Purpose. Pronounced in open court on 17.04.2026.
Sd/- Sd/-
(BHAGIRATH MAL BIYANI) (PARESH M JOSHI) ACCOUNTANT MEMBER JUDICIAL MEMBER
Indore Dated : 17/04/2026 Patel/Sr. PS
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Copies to: (1) The appellant (2) The respondent (3) CIT (4) CIT(A) (5) Departmental Representative (6) Guard File By order UE COPY Senior Private Secretary Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Indore Bench, Indore
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