Possession under part performance is essential for transfer under capital gains law; partial sale alone is insufficient.

Section 2(47)(v) applies only where immovable property is allowed to be taken or retained in part performance of a contract within section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act. Mere partial execution of an agreement to sell, including sale of some plots, is not enough unless possession under the contract is actually delivered or retained. Where the agreement provides that possession will be given only after full payment and there is no material showing delivery or constructive transfer of the balance land, the transaction does not constitute a transfer for capital gains purposes to that extent, and no further capital gains addition can be sustained.

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Issues: Whether the agreement to sell and subsequent partial sale of plots amounted to a "transfer" attracting capital gains under section 2(47)(v) of the Income-tax Act by reason of section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act, even though possession of the balance land was not delivered.

Analysis: Section 2(47)(v) extends the meaning of transfer only where possession of immovable property is allowed to be taken or retained in part performance of a contract of the nature referred to in section 53A. The essential condition is delivery or retention of possession under the contract; mere sale of a portion of the agreed property is not, by itself, part performance for this purpose. On the facts, the agreement itself provided that possession would be given only after full payment, and there was no material to show that possession of the balance land was ever delivered or constructively transferred. The revenue authorities treated partial execution of the bargain as sufficient, which was held to be legally incorrect.

Conclusion: The transaction did not fall within section 2(47)(v) read with section 53A to the extent the balance land remained without possession being given, and no further capital gains addition could be sustained for the year under appeal.

Ratio Decidendi: For section 2(47)(v) to apply, the transfer must involve actual allowing of possession of immovable property, or retention of such possession, in part performance of the contract under section 53A; partial performance by way of sale of only some plots is insufficient unless possession is shown to have been delivered under the contract.

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