ITAT held that amounts received by the assessee pursuant to a...

ITAT held that amounts received by the assessee pursuant to a final settlement agreement/arbitral award, whereby the assessee relinquished a claim/right to sue, constitute a capital receipt and are not taxable as capital gains. The Tribunal found that the CIT(A) erred in characterising the payment as salary, business income, or short-term capital gain rather than a capital receipt akin to long-term capital nature. Consequently, the order of the CIT(A) was set aside and the additional ground of appeal allowing the capital receipt characterization was allowed, resulting in relief to the assessee from income tax assessment on the settlement proceeds.