Incomplete factual verification in land acquisition-linked TDR tax claims justified remand for fresh adjudication.

Taxability of receipts from transfer of development rights and the claimed exemption under section 96 of the land acquisition law could not be decided on the existing record because the Assessing Officer had not examined the claim on a complete factual foundation and the supporting material was incomplete. Verification of the land cost, the nature of the acquisition, the book treatment of the land/TDR transaction, and satisfaction of the statutory exemption conditions remained pending. The matter was therefore remitted for fresh adjudication, with the jurisdictional Assessing Officer directed to reconsider the exemption claim and related tax treatment after giving a reasonable opportunity of hearing. No final finding was recorded on the merits.

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Issues: Whether the dispute concerning taxability of receipts from transfer of development rights, the claimed exemption under section 96 of the land acquisition law, and the related cost of land/TDR claim should be sent back for fresh adjudication.

Analysis: The record showed that the claimed exemption on acquisition-linked receipts was not examined by the Assessing Officer on a complete factual foundation, and the relevant supporting material was not before the lower authorities in full. The appellate relief also rested on incomplete verification of whether the land cost and the nature of the acquisition were properly reflected in the books and whether the statutory conditions for exemption were satisfied. In these circumstances, the correct course was to restore the matter so that the jurisdictional Assessing Officer could re-examine the exemption claim, the book treatment of land cost, and the tax treatment of the TDR transaction after giving a reasonable opportunity of hearing and considering the material now produced.

Conclusion: The matter was remitted for fresh adjudication and no final finding was recorded on the merits of the exemption or taxation controversy.

Final Conclusion: The controversy was reopened before the assessing authority for a de novo examination of the factual and legal issues, and the substantive tax consequences were left undecided at this stage.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a tax claim depends on incomplete factual verification and essential evidence is absent from the lower record, the proper course is remand for fresh consideration rather than a final merits determination.

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