Section 22 ownership follows beneficial entitlement, so absence of registered sale deeds did not sustain tax ownership here.

For section 22 of the Income-tax Act, ownership is not confined to legal title under the Transfer of Property Act or registration under the Registration Act; it extends to the person entitled to receive income from the property in his own right. Where the flats were constructed and possession had been handed over to prospective purchasers under agreements to sell, the absence of registered sale deeds did not by itself keep the assessee as taxable owner. On that footing, no referable question of law arose under section 256(2), and the Revenue's applications were rejected.

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Issues: Whether, for the purpose of section 22 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the assessee could still be treated as the owner of the flats despite handing over possession under agreements to sell without execution and registration of final sale deeds, and whether any referable question arose under section 256(2).

Analysis: The property had been constructed, possession of the flats had been handed over to prospective purchasers under agreements to sell, and the only remaining element was the absence of registered sale deeds. The applicable legal position was governed by the principle that, for section 22, ownership is not confined to strict conveyance under the Transfer of Property Act or the Registration Act, but extends to the person entitled to receive income from the property in his own right. In view of the Supreme Court's ruling that registration is not indispensable for section 22 ownership, the contention that the assessee retained taxable ownership merely because legal title had not formally passed could not survive.

Conclusion: No referable question of law arose under section 256(2), and the applications filed by the Revenue were rejected. The issue was decided against the Revenue and in favour of the assessee.

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