TMI Blog2004 (4) TMI 9X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... date when the document was registered. - We answer the question in favour of the Revenue and against the assessee. - - - - - Dated:- 29-4-2004 - Judge(s) : A. S. VENKATACHALA MOORTHY., P. K. MISRA. JUDGMENT The judgment of the court was delivered by A.S. Venkatachalamoorthy J. - The assessee is the absolute owner of the property bearing Door No. 15, Whites Road, Madras. It gifted a portion of the said land comprising of 5,500 sq. ft. with the building thereon to one Shri Rajasekar under a gift deed dated February 7, 1985. The said document was however registered long thereafter that was on September 30, 1987. The assessee filed the return for the assessment year 1988-89, admitting a taxable gift of Rs. 2,70,000. The Assessing Offi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... immovable property made voluntarily and without consideration, by one person to another. Section 123 of the Transfer of Property Act lays down that for the purpose of making a gift of immovable property transfer must be effected by a registered instrument signed by or on behalf of the donor and attested by at least two witnesses. In the Gift-tax Act, again, the term "gift" is defined in section 2(xii) as under: - "In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, - 'gift' means the transfer by one person to another of any existing movable or immovable property made voluntarily and without consideration in money or money's worth, and includes the transfer or conversion of any property referred to in section 4, deemed to be a gift ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... orted in Gomatibai v. Mattulal [1996] 9 JT 454, held that in the absence of any registered instrument of gift and acceptance thereof by the donee, the said property could not be said to have been legally transferred. Or in other words, the gift is not complete in the eye of law. Learned counsel for the assessee, pointing out section 2(xxiv) of the Gift-tax Act and the ruling reported in Hamda Ammal v. Avadiappa Pathar [1991] 1 SCC 715, would contend that once a document is registered, it will relate back to the date of execution of the deed and that delivery was effected immediately on the execution of deed that was on February 7, 1985, and hence the Tribunal is right in holding that the gift made by the assessee should be considered in t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... reement with the above ruling and the view taken by the learned single judge of this court in Thulasimani Ammal v. CIT [2000] 108 Taxman 426 (Mad). Learned counsel for the assessee then put forth a submission that in Thulasimani Ammal v. CIT [2000] 108 Taxman 426 (Mad), the court was considering a case pertaining to the assessment year 1971-72 and that the Act was subsequently amended by adding an Explanation clause to section 2(xii) of the Gift-tax Act for the definition of the term "gift" and hence that ruling would not apply. We do not see any substance in this submission. The Explanation clause, we find, does not in any way militate against the fulfillment of the requirements of section 123 of the Transfer of Property Act for a vali ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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