Capital gains transfer date turns on execution of the deed, not later registration completion.

For capital gains purposes, transfer of immovable property is treated as taking effect on execution of the conveyance, not on later presentation or completion of registration. The taxing provisions in section 45 read with the statutory meaning of "transfer" in sections 2(14) and 2(47) govern the analysis, and section 47 of the Registration Act gives the registered document retrospective operation from the date it would have operated if registration were unnecessary. The decisive date is therefore the execution date, when the transferor's rights are extinguished, even if registration is completed afterwards.

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Issues: Whether transfer of immovable property for the purpose of capital gains tax takes place on the date of execution of the document, on the date of presentation for registration, or on the date when registration is completed.

Analysis: The statutory scheme under section 45 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 charges to tax the profits or gains arising from a transfer of a capital asset effected in the previous year. The expressions "capital asset" and "transfer" in sections 2(14) and 2(47) were treated as controlling for income-tax purposes, and the Court held that the concept of transfer under the taxing statute must be understood in that context rather than by importing a restrictive view from the Transfer of Property Act. Section 47 of the Registration Act, 1908 was read as giving a registered document operation from the date it would have commenced to operate if registration had not been required, and the date of completion of registration was held not to be the decisive date for capital gains. On the facts, the deed was executed in the earlier accounting year, and the transfer became effective on that date notwithstanding later presentation and registration.

Conclusion: Transfer of immovable property of the value exceeding Rs. 100 is effected on the date of execution of the document for purposes of capital gains under the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Ratio Decidendi: For capital gains taxation, transfer is complete when the document of transfer is executed and the transferor's rights are extinguished, even if registration is completed later, because section 45 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 is governed by the statutory meaning of transfer and the retrospective operation of section 47 of the Registration Act, 1908.

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