June 2011
ITO v. Radha Birju Patel ITAT ‘D’ Bench, Mumbai Before N. V. Vasudevan (JM) and Pramod Kumar (AM) ITA No. 5382/Mum./2009 A.Y.: 2006-07. Decided: 30-11-2010 Counsel for revenue/assessee: Jitendra Yadav/Shalin S. Divatia
By Jagdish D. Shah | Jagdish T. Punjabi
Charted Accountants
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Section 14 — Heads of income — Income out of investments in shares of listed companies through Portfolio Management Scheme —Whether the AO was justified in taxing income under the head business income — Held that the income was taxable as capital gains.
Facts:
The assessee had made investment in shares through the Portfolio Management Scheme. She had disclosed a short-term capital gain of Rs.11.61 lakh and short-term capital loss of Rs.0.5 lakh in respect of purchase and sales of shares of various companies. According to the AO based on CBDT Circular No. 4 of 2007, dated 15-6-2007, the case of the assessee falls in the case of trading in shares. A reference was also made to the Supreme Court decision in the case of G. Venkataswami Naidu & Co v. CIT, (35 ITR 594), wherein the had laid down a principle that where purchases had been made solely and exclusively with intention to resell at a profit and the purchaser had no intention of holding property for himself or otherwise enjoying or using it, presence of such an intention was a relevant factor and unless it was offset by presence of other factors, it would raise a strong presumption that the transaction was in the nature of trade. He also noted that dividend earned during the year amounted to Rs.0.94 lakh, which according to him indicated that the intention of the assessee was to hold shares only for such period as may enable her encashing the appreciation in its value. On appeal by the assessee, the CIT(A) held in favour of the assessee. Being aggrieved, the Revenue appealed before the Tribunal and relied on the order of the AO.
Held:
The Tribunal noted that the assessee was doing investment activities through the Portfolio Manager. Such activities were for maximisation of wealth rather than encashment of profits on appreciation in value of shares. It further noted that the very nature of the Portfolio Management Scheme was such that the investments made by the assessee were protected and enhanced. Therefore, according to it, in such a circumstance, it cannot be said that Portfolio Management was a scheme of trading in shares and stock. Accordingly, it upheld the order of the CIT(A).
