By Neeraj Agarwala
l I work with a private sector company and vendors give Diwali gifts such as electronics and vacation vouchers. Do I have to put a total monetary value of the gifts, pay tax and report in ITR?—Name withheld
Gifts received, where the aggregate value in a financial year exceeds `50,000, are taxable in the hands of the recipient under the head “income from other sources”. Only gifts received in cash, immovable property and specified movable property are taxable. Specified movable property includes shares, jewellery, archaeological collections, drawings, paintings, sculptures or any work of art and bullion. In other words, gifts other than those covered in the above definition, for e.g., electronic appliances, vacation vouchers, etc., would not be taxable. Where gift become taxable, the same should be reported in the income tax return under the applicable head.
l In the sale agreement in respect of flat purchase, the builder has indicated the sale consideration which includes GST. My query is whether the registration and stamp duty (which is 7.65% in Karnataka) will be applied on the GST component also ? The builder is showing a consolidated amount including GST.—T V Mahadevan
Typically, stamp duty is calculated on the value of the property or the agreement value, not including GST per se. However, if the agreement shows a consolidated value (basic price + GST) as the sale consideration, and the GST value is not separately identifiable, then stamp duty may be computed on this entire amount agreement value, i.e., including GST. Hence, if possible, request the builder to clearly bifurcate the sale consideration and GST in the sale deed/agreement so that stamp duty is not levied on the GST component.
l In July this year, I lost about Rs 2 lakh in options, but gained around Rs 1.5 lakh after selling shares (long-term). Can I offset the loss with the gains?—Anmol Srivastava
Loss from trading in options is treated as a non-speculative business loss under Section 43(5). As per Section 71, a loss under the head “Profits and Gains of Business or Profession” (other than speculative business loss) can be set off against income under any other head, including “Capital Gains,” in the same assessment year. Therefore, your loss of `2 lakh from options trading can be adjusted against the `1.5 lakh long-term capital gain from the sale of shares. To avail such set-off, the Income-tax Return must be filed within the due date. If the return is filed after the due date, the benefit of such set-off will not be available.
The writer is partner, Nangia & Company. Send your queries to fepersonalfinance@expressindia.com