AI OCR 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2019 (1) TMI 1845
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....ned LTCG on transfer reads as under:- 3. We have heard rival contentions. Relevant case records comprising of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh state government notification dt. 16/04/2017 merging 8 gram panchayats in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), copy of the city planner's letter dt. 22/03/2012 clarifying Mamidipally gram panchayat as not merged in the said gram panchayat as on 01/04/2008, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority Director Planning-II letter dt. 19/03/2015 addressed to the DCIT, Circle-8(1) u/s 133(6) of the Act that the said panchayat consisted of three different villages, government of Andhra Pradesh revenue department memo dt. 21/01/2008 clarifying that the lands in the said panchayat in the village Saroonagar Mandal, Ranga Reddy district are agricultural not falling within 8 Kms. of any municipality or municipal corporation, copy of Government Notification dt. 06/01/1994 issued u/s 2(1A)(C) provisos under clause (II)(B) and Section 2(14)(III)(B) of the Act, copy of GHMC's letter dt. 18/08/2014 stating Mamidapally gram panchayat not to have been merged with the corporation, copy of remand report dt. 16/10/2015 along with covering letter, ....
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....actor is 8 Kms distance not fulfilled u/s 2(14)(III)(B) of the Act. They have further relied upon "Google" assistant in coming to the conclusion that the assessee's lands are within 6 Kms. of the GHMC limits. Such a method has nowhere been prescribed in the Act. The legislature; in Finance Act, 2013 w.e.f. 01/04/2013, has made it clear whilst substituting the earlier provision with the distance of the land in question has to be measured as per aerial distance. This is not the Revenue's case that the said amendment carries any retrospective operation. Meaning thereby that 8 Kms distance condition has to be measured in terms of the road only as held by the hon'ble Delhi High Court in the case of CIT vs. Vijay Singh Kadan [2015] 378 ITR 71 (Delhi). The Revenue fails to dispute that neither of the lower authorities has quoted any surface link between the assessee's land and the nearest municipality namely GHMC so as to treat its lands as capital asset giving rise to long term capital gains on transfer. We therefore accept the assessee's sole substantive ground and direct the Assessing Officer to delete the impugned long term capital gains addition of Rs. 3,09,77,775/-. 5. This asses....
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....ivity including SEZ of Aviation Sector. It is known to the world that the village Mamidipally is only 6 km far from the State Main City of Hyderabad, even though its distance is about 46 km from the District Main City of Ranga Reddy. Even a google search on the web will confirm this fact. In the fact of such clear facts, there is very little or no merit in the assesse's assertion that the impugned land was an agricultural land and it would be weird to say that the village Mamidipally does not fall within a radius of 8 km from any nearest municipality/municipal corporation/cantonment board. c) Even an agricultural land situate in India comes to be treated as a capital asset within the meaning of section 2(14)(iii) when such land falls within 8 km radius from the local limits of a municipality whether known as a municipality, municipal corporation, notified area committee, town area committee or by any other name. in the instant case, the village Mamidipally is only 6 km far from the State Main City of Hyderabad. Vide Notification S.O. 9447 issued from CBDT's File No.164/3/87-ITA.I dated 06/01/1994, any agricultural land situated in areas wit....
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....9:- Ground nos. 1 to 9 involves a single issue and are disposed off together. a) During the course of appellate proceedings before me the appellant filed written submissions dated 12.11.2012 which is as under- (i) "This appeal was filed against the Assessment Order for Assessment Year 2009-10 passed by Learned Assessing Officer where he has treated the Agriculture land as non-agriculture land for the purpose of Capital Gain Tax and levied tax on surplus as sale of agricultural land." (ii) "Learned Assessing Officer had mentioned in the order that village Mamidipally has already become a Hub of major non-agricultural economic activity including SEZ of Aviation Sector and village Mamidipally is only 6 km far from the state main city of Hyderabad. We are enclosing a letter No.R/177/TPS/HO/GHMC/2012/1023 dt.22/24.3.2012 issued by Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Chief City Planner Town Planning Section (HO) issued by them under RTI Act that the Gram Panchayats of Shamshabad, Satamarai, Jallepally, Mamidipally, Mankhal. Almasguda, Saroor Nagar and Ravirala are not merged with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation as on 1.4.2008. (Xerox ....
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.... Andhra Pradesh. The appellant vide his letter dated 16/01/15 made the following submissions. "That a copy of letter received from Dy. Collector & Mondal Revenue Collector, Saroornagar Mondal Ranga Reddy District Government of Andhra Pradesh stating that the lands of MAMIDIPALLY, Village Saroornagar Mondal Ranga Reddy District are agriculture lands and the said village is a Gram Panchayet and neither a Municipality/Municipal Corporation nor falls within 8 km radius of any nearest Municipality/Municipal Corporation. A copy of the said Memo No. L No.A/Spl/2008 dated 21.01.2008 is enclosed." 5.(d) This office letter dated 20/01/15 to DCIT, Cir-8(1), Kolkata was issued, the relevant portion is quoted as under- 5.(e) "It is further seen that in the Assessment Order, it has been mentioned that Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation was formed on 16/04/2007 by merging 12 municipalities and 8 gram panchayets including Mamidipally with the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad. However, the appellant has submitted copy of a letter received from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation in response to its RTI query according to which Mamidipally Gr....
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....r merger of 12 municipalities in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. There is no mention of merger of Gram Panchayats in the notification. As the 8 Gram Panchayats were not merged, this notification is not applicable on us. The Chief City Planner as per his reply No.R/177/TPS/HO/GHMC/1023 dt.22/03/2012 (copy already submitted now again enclosed) had mentioned that all the 8 Gram Panchayats namely Shamsabad, Satamarri, Jalapalli, Mamidipalli, Mankhal, Almasguda, Sardarnagar and 8. Ravarala were not merged with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation as on 01/04/2008. The original letter is being produced for your verification. In view of this it is submitted that the Notification referred by the Learned Assessing Officer is not applicable to our case since by such notification Mamidipally Gram Panchayat was not merged with GHMC." 5.(g) I have gone through the Assessment Order, Remand Report of the Assessing Officer, Rejoinder and submissions of the appellant. The letter dated 10/03/2015 from Chief City Planner (GHMC) to DC, Cir-8(1), Kolkata enclosed by the Remand Report of DC, Cir.-8(1), Kolkata is quoted as under- "With referenc....