Insertion of new section 54EE.
31. After section 54ED of the Income-tax Act, the following section shall be inserted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2017, namely:-
Capital gain not to be charged on investment in units of a specified fund.
‘54EE. (1) Where the capital gain arises from the transfer of a long-term capital asset (herein in this section referred to as the original asset) and the assessee has, at any time within a period of six months after the date of such transfer, invested the whole or any part of capital gains in the long-term specified asset, the capital gain shall be dealt with in accordance with the following provisions of this section, namely:-
(a) if the cost of the long-term specified asset is not less than the capital gain arising from the transfer of the original asset, the whole of such capital gain shall not be charged under section 45;
(b) if the cost of the long-term specified asset is less than the capital gain arising from the transfer of the original asset, so much of the capital gain as bears to the whole of the capital gain the same proportion as the cost of acquisition of the long-term specified asset bears to the whole of the capital gain, shall not be charged under section 45:
Provided that the investment made on or after the 1st day of April, 2016, in the long-term specified asset by an assessee during any financial year does not exceed fifty lakh rupees:
Provided further that the investment made by an assessee in the long-term specified asset, from capital gains arising from the transfer of one or more original assets, during the financial year in which the original asset or assets are transferred and in the subsequent financial year does not exceed fifty lakh rupees.
(2) Where the long-term specified asset is transferred by the assessee at any time within a period of three years from the date of its acquisition, the amount of capital gains arising from the transfer of the original asset not charged under section 45 on the basis of the cost of such long-term specified asset as provided in clause (a) or, as the case may be, clause (b) of sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be the income chargeable under the head “Capital gains” relating to long-term capital asset of the previous year in which the long-term specified asset is transferred.
Explanation 1.-In a case where the original asset is transferred and the assessee invests the whole or any part of the capital gain received or accrued as a result of transfer of the original asset in any long-term specified asset and such assessee takes any loan or advance on the security of such specified asset, he shall be deemed to have transferred such specified asset on the date on which such loan or advance is taken.
Explanation 2.-For the purposes of this section,-
(a) “cost”, in relation to any long-term specified asset, means the amount invested in such specified asset out of capital gains received or accruing as a result of the transfer of the original asset;
(b) “long-term specified asset” means a unit or units, issued before the 1st day of April, 2019, of such fund as may be notified by the Central Government in this behalf.’.
Notes on Clauses:
Clause 31 of the Bill seeks to insert a new section 54EE in the Income-tax Act relating to capital gain not to be charged on investment in units of specified fund.
It is proposed to insert section 54EE so as to provide exemption from capital gains tax if the capital gains proceeds are invested by an assessee in units of specified fund, as may be notified by the Central Government in this behalf.
These amendments will take effect from 1st April, 2017 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the assessment year 2017-18 and subsequent assessment years.
