COMMISSIONER OF GIFT TAX Vs. SERPAL C L

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Delhi Bench-C, has, in this reference under Section 26(1) of the. G.T. Act, 1958, referred the following questions of law for the opinion of this court :

(2.) THE facts which have given rise to these questions briefly stated are that the assessee, late Sri Guran Ditta Mal, an individual, had constructed a house property bearing No. F-40, Green Park, New Delhi. He made a gift of a portion of that property on March 2, 1970, in favour of his son, Chiranjiv Lal Sarpal. THE value of the gifted property was shown at Rs. 47,000 and the assessee filed a return of gift on November 27, 1970, declaring the taxable gift at the aforesaid amount. THE GTO made an assessment under Section 15(1) on August 31, 1971, accepting the return. At the same time, a few days before the filing of the gift-tax return the assessee had filed his wealth-tax return for the assessment years 1968-69 and 1969-70. In these returns for 1969-70, the value of the entire property was shown at Rs. 72,000 as on March 31, 1969. THE WTO, however, determined the vaule of that property at Rs. 1,56,000. On the basis of that assessment as modified by the AAC, the GTO issued notice under Section 16(1) of the Act in respect of the assessment under consideration, viz., 1970-71, on January 19, 1973. Pursuant to that notice the assessee filed the return showing the value of the gifted property at the figure which he had shown in the original return. THE GTO, on the other hand, took the value of the property gifted at Rs. 90,500.

(3.) RELIANCE has been placed by both the sides on certain decisions to which we would advert a little later. In order to appreciate the submissions made before us, it would be necessary to refer to the relevant provisions contained in Section 16(1)(b) of the Act. Section 16(1)(b) reads as under ;