The ITAT held that the AO erred in disregarding the registered...

The ITAT held that the AO erred in disregarding the registered valuer's report without specific factual contradictions and in assuming jurisdiction to determine the fair market value (FMV) independently using circle rates and interpolation, without referring the matter to the Departmental Valuation Officer (DVO) as mandated by the Act. The tribunal emphasized that conversion rates and circle rates may only corroborate expert valuations but cannot replace the statutory valuation process. The AO's failure to consider supplementary comparable sale deeds and to conduct independent inquiries into surrounding property values was also noted. The DRP's direction to compute the cost of acquisition using Land & Development Office conversion rates was held to be erroneous. Consequently, the valuation report prepared by the qualified valuer was upheld, and the appeal was allowed, directing acceptance of the expert valuation and reference to the DVO for valuation purposes.