Kapil Kumar Agarwal, Gurgaon vs Dcit, Gurgaon on 30 April, 2019
"The question for consideration is whether exemption on capital gains
could be refused to the assessee simply on the ground that the
construction of the Surya Nagar, Agra house, had begun before the
sale of the Link house. Similar question came up for consideration
before the Karnataka High Court in the case of CIT v. J. R.
Subramanya Bhat [1987] 165 ITR 571. In the case before the
Karnataka High Court, the date of the sale of the old building was
February 9, 1977. The completion of the construction of the new
building was in March, 1977, although the commencement of
construction started in 1976. On these facts, the Karnataka High
Court held that it was immaterial that the construction of the new
building was started before the sale of the old building. We fully agree
with the view taken by the Karnataka High Court. The Appellate
Tribunal was right in holding that capital gains arising from the sale
of the Golf Link house to the extent it got invested in the construction
of the Surya Nagar house, will be exempted under section 54 of the
Act."