TMI Blog2010 (8) TMI 482X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s and circumstances of this case, the assessee is entitled to deduction under section 54 and the capital gains would be nil. 2. The assessee Smt. Rukminiyamma had a property at Basavanagudi. She entered into a joint development agreement with builder M. A. Mohan Kumar on July 8, 2002, to develop the said property. According to the agreement, the assessee is the owner of the property bearing No. 69 (old 17 and later 46) situated at Govindappa Road, Basavanagudi, Bangalore-2, measuring 30' x 110'. The builder agreed to construct residential apartments and agreed to deliver 48 per cent. of the super built area to the assessee in the form of residential apartments. The entire cost of construction and other expenses are to be borne by the bu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ats at Rs. 40,54,200. The builder had given a sum of Rs. 1,20,000 on July 8, 2002 as refundable deposit. Out of the said amount, she had repaid Rs. 50,000 to the builder and still she was due to refund Rs. 70.000. 4. The assessing authority, on the aforesaid facts, held that the consideration received by the assessee is Rs. 40,54,200 as against Rs. 22,93,650 declared by her being the value of 1,699 sq. ft. of land being 52 per cent. of the site transferred to the builder. Accordingly, a sum of Rs. 21,73,880 was held to be the capital gain. Therefore, it was concluded that the assessee had furnished inaccurate particulars of income by declaring the value of portion of the site transferred to the builder at Rs. 22.9 lakhs as against, the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... earned capital gain out of sale, what is to be seen is whether the sale proceeds of the original assets has been utilized in acquiring another house property. The apartments were acquired simultaneously and hence the conditions for acquiring a residential house within the time specified are complied with and, therefore, the assessee is eligible for deduction under section 54 in respect of all the apartments simultaneously acquired. Accordingly the Appellate Tribunal dismissed the appeal. Aggrieved by the same, the Revenue is before this court. 7. The learned counsel for the Revenue assailing the impugned orders passed by the appellate authority, contended that, under section 54, the word used is "a residential house". The letter "a" in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 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,- . . . ." 9. A reading of the aforesaid provision makes it very clear that the property sold is referred to as original asset in the section. That original asset is described as buildings or lands appurtenant thereto and being a residential house. Therefore, it is not mere "a residential house". The residential house may include buildings or lands appurtenant thereto. The stress is on the use to which the property is put to. Only when that asset was used as a residential house, which may consist of buildings or lands appurtenant there ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... which are plural in number and that is referred to as "a residential house", the original asset. An asset newly acquired after the sale of the original asset also can be buildings or lands appurtenant thereto, which also should be "a residential house." Therefore the letter "a" in the context it is used should not be construed as meaning "singular." But, being an indefinite article, the said expression should be read in consonance with the other words "buildings and lands" and, there-fore, the singular "a residential house" also permits use of plural by virtue of section 13(2) of the General Clauses Act This is the view which is taken by this court in the aforesaid Anand Basappa's case in I. T. A. No. 113/2004, disposed of on September 20, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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