Category: Capital Gain

Tax on Short term capital Gains (STCG) – Section 111A

Short Term Capital Asset	Rate of Tax
Any STCG  arising from transfer of equity shares or units of equity oriented fund on which Securities Transaction Tax(STT) has been paid	15%
Any STCG  arising from a transaction undertaken in foreign currency on a Recognized stock exchange located in an IFSC even though on which Securities Transaction Tax(STT) has been not paid	15%

Note: STCG arising on transfer of other Short Term Capital Assets would be charged at Normal Rates of Tax.

Tax on Long term Capital Gains (LTCG) – Section 112

Long Term Capital Asset	Rate of tax
Unlisted securities, or shares of a closely held company	Non-corporate non-resident/ foreign company – 10% without the benefit of indexation and currency fluctuation Other Assessees – 20%, with indexation benefit
Listed securities other than a unit) or a zero- coupon bond	– 10%, without the benefit of indexation or – 20%, availing the benefit of indexation whichever is  more beneficial to the assessee
Other Assets	– 20%

Tax on Long term Capital Gains on certain assets – Section 112A

Long Term Capital Asset	Rate of Tax
Any LTCG exceeding Rs.100000 arising on transfer equity shares or units of equity oriented fund on which STT has been paid at the time of acquisition of such shares	10%
Any LTCG exceeding Rs.100000 arising from a transaction undertaken in foreign currency on a recognized stock exchange located in an IFSC even though on which STT has been not paid	10%

Note :

• In case of a resident individual or a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), the long-term capital gain taxable u/s 112 or 112A or short-term capital gain taxable u/s 111A shall be reduced by the unexhausted basic exemption limit and the balance shall be subject to tax.
• No deduction under Chapter VI-A can be claimed in respect of such long-term capital gain chargeable to tax u/s 112 or u/s 112A or short-term capital gain chargeable to tax u/s 111A.
• Rebate u/s 87A is not available in respect of tax payable @10% on Long-term Capital Gains u/s 112A.

1. Short term capital asset:

An asset which is held for a period of 36 months or less is a short-term capital asset. The criteria of 36 months have been reduced to 24 months in the case of Unlisted Shares, immovable property being land, building, and house property, from FY 2017-18.

However, following assets held for not more than 12 months shall be treated as short-term capital assets:

• Equity or preference shares in a company which are listed in any recognized stock exchange in India;
• Other listed securities;
• Units of UTI;
• Units of equity oriented funds; or
• Zero Coupon Bonds.

2. Long term capital asset:

Capital Asset that is held for more than 36 months or 24 months or 12 months, as the case may be, immediately preceding the date of transfer is treated as long-term capital asset.

Summary of the period of holding:

What is meant by Capital Gains ?

Capital Gains means, any profits arising from the transfer of Capital Asset affected in the previous year will be chargeable to income tax under the head ‘Capital Gains’. A capital gain may be short-term or long-term.

Defining Capital Assets:

As per section 2(14), a Capital Asset means –     

1. Property of any kind held by an assessee, whether or not connected with his business or profession;
2. Any securities held by a Foreign Institutional Investor which has invested in such securities in accordance with the SEBI regulations.

However, it does not include the following:

1. Any stock, consumables or raw material, held for the purpose of business or profession
2. Personal goods such as clothes and furniture held for personal use
3. Agricultural land in rural India
4. 6½% gold bonds (1977) or 7% gold bonds (1980) or national defence gold bonds (1980) issued by the central government
5. Special bearer bonds (1991)
6. Gold deposit bond issued under the gold deposit scheme (1999) or deposit certificates issued under the Gold Monetisation Scheme, 2015.

Note:

1. However, jewellery, archaeological collections, drawings, paintings, sculptures, or any work of art are not treated as personal effects and, hence, are included in the definition of capital assets.
2. ‘Property’ includes and shall be deemed to have always included any rights in or in relation to an Indian company, including rights of management or control or any other rights whatsoever.
3. Rural Agriculture Land means not being land situate –
   • agricultural land situated in any area within the jurisdiction of a municipality or cantonment board having population of not less than 10,000 or
   • agricultural land situated in any area within such distance, measured aerially, in relation to the range of population as shown hereunder –

	Shortest aerial distance from the local limits of a municipality or cantonment board referred to in item	Population according to the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published before the first day of the previous year.
(i)	≤ 2 kilometers	> 10,000 ≤ 1,00,000
(ii)	≤ 6 kilometers	> 1,00,000 ≤ 10,00,000
(iii)	≤ 8 kilometers	> 10,00,000