TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (10) TMI 1110
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....rounds of appeal is against the addition made of Rs. 11,07,499/- being profit earned on sale of agricultural land. The Assessing Officer during the assessment proceedings noticed that an amount of Rs. 11,07,499/- was earned by the assessee from sale of 6 plots of land during the year. However, the same was not shown In the income returned. When the assessee was confronted by the Assessing Officer, it was replied that since the land is agricultural land, therefore, the same is not taxable in view of the provision of Section 2(14) of the IT Act. However, this argument of the assessee did not find favour with the Assessing Officer and he treated the income as income earned out of adventure in the nature of trade. 5. By the impugned order CIT(....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....of trade as distinguished from a capital investment, it would make no difference even if the transaction is single or isolated one. This proposition has been laid down by Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the case of R. Dalmia vs. CIT 137 ITR 665. 6.3 The argument of the appellant that it did not have any land transaction in the past years, therefore, cannot be of any help considering the aforesaid proposition laid down by the Hon'ble Court. 6.4 Hon'ble Gujarat High Court in the case of CIT vs. Premji Gopalbhai [1978] 113 ITR 785 (Guj.) has held that "Even if land which is not a commercial commodity is purchased and it can be shown that the purchase of the land was made solely and exclusively with an intention to resell it at a pr....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....(2) Sale of land for non-agricultural purposes. (3) Sale of land by a measure with reference to square yards and not acres. (4) Price being such as to be non-viable, if the land is put to agricultural use by the purchaser, while it is more consistent with the price fetched for urban plots than for agricultural land. (5) Character of the land. (6) The purpose for which the land was held by the present owner. A firm which holds it may well be presumed to have held it as stock-in-trade and not for carrying out agricultural operations. (7) As regards use of the land for agricultural purposes prior to sale, mere use ' in remote past though land revenue is paid, would not make it agricultural. (8) Mere capability of being used as ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....s arising from sales exempt from income tax." 6.10 In the light of the aforesaid discussion on the facts of the case as well as decisions cited supra, I hold that the Assessing Officer was perfectly justified in treating the income earned from land transaction as adventure in the nature of trade. The amount of surplus of Rs. 11,07,499/- has been rightly taxed as business income. The order of the Assessing Officer is accordingly confirmed. 6. Assessee is in further appeal before us against the above order of CIT(A). It was contended by learned AR that assessee has declared agricultural income of Rs. 42,870/-, out of which Rs. 12,500/- was derived from six agricultural land sold during the year. Learned AR also placed on record chart indic....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....the amount received has to be regarded as agricultural income. Reliance was also placed on the decision of Bombay High Court in case of Manu Bhai A Sheth 128 ITR 087 and Gujarat High Court in the case of Manilal Somnath 106 ITR 0917. Reliance was also placed on the decision of Hyderabad Tribunal Bench in the case of Tulla Veerender 160 TTJ 0435. 9. On the other hand learned DR relied on the order of the lower authorities. 10. We have heard rival contentions and carefully gone through the orders of the authorities below. We had also deliberated on the various judicial pronouncements referred by lower authorities in their respective orders as well as cited by learned AR during the course of hearing before us in the context of factual matrix....