Capital gains timing turns on conditional transfer: registration alone did not complete the sale until full payment was made.

Where the registered sale deed made completion conditional on realisation of post-dated cheques, the transfer was not an effective conveyance merely because registration occurred. The parties retained the original deed pending payment, part of the consideration was not realised on due dates, and their later conduct and fresh agreement showed that they treated the sale as complete only after full payment in the later financial year. Capital gains were therefore taxable in assessment year 2012-13, not assessment year 2011-12, and the alternative cross-objection grounds became infructuous.

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Issues: Whether the long-term capital gains arising from the transfer of the immovable property were taxable in assessment year 2011-12 or assessment year 2012-13.

Analysis: The registered sale deed made completion of the transaction conditional upon realization of the post-dated cheques. The original document was retained pending payment, part of the consideration was not realized on due dates, and the subsequent conduct and fresh agreement showed that the parties treated the transaction as becoming complete only after full payment in the later financial year. On these facts, the transfer could not be treated as an effective conveyance merely because the deed had been registered. The principle applied was that, where payment of consideration is a condition precedent and the parties intend transfer to take effect only on such payment, registration by itself does not complete the transfer for capital gains purposes.

Conclusion: The capital gains were taxable in assessment year 2012-13 and not in assessment year 2011-12. The assessee succeeded on the main issue, and the alternative cross-objection grounds were rendered infructuous.

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