Full TDS credit on jointly owned property sale allowed subject to verification of the co-owner's claim

Full TDS credit on the sale of a jointly owned immovable property was claimed by the assessee because the entire TDS was reflected in his Form 26AS and TDS certificate, while the co-owner wife had not claimed any credit in her return. Joint ownership and equal sharing of capital gains, by themselves, were not treated as sufficient reason to deny the claim. The matter was left for verification by the Assessing Officer, and if the wife had not claimed any part of the TDS, the entire credit was to be allowed to the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to full TDS credit where the TDS on sale of a jointly owned immovable property was deposited in his name, while the capital gain was offered in equal shares by both co-owners.

Analysis: The entire TDS stood reflected in the assessee's Form 26AS and corresponding TDS certificate, and the wife had not claimed any TDS credit in her return. On these uncontroverted facts, joint ownership of the property and equal sharing of capital gains could not, by themselves, justify denial of the assessee's claim for full TDS credit. The factual position regarding any claim by the wife required verification.

Conclusion: The assessee's claim was not rejected outright and the matter was directed to be verified by the Assessing Officer; if the wife had not claimed any part of the TDS, the entire credit was to be allowed to the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The appeal resulted in grant of relief to the assessee on the TDS credit issue, subject to factual verification by the Assessing Officer.

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