25 July 2025
Great question! Here's a clear breakdown:
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### Context:
* Mr. X’s **Stock-in-Trade (SIT)** is land held for business (land development). * He wants to sell a piece of **agricultural land** from SIT. * Agricultural land is **exempt from Income Tax on capital gains** under certain conditions. * Can he split SIT into:
1. Agricultural land (exempt) 2. Other land (taxable) * And claim exemption on the agricultural land portion?
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### Answer:
1. **Stock-in-Trade (SIT) is normally considered business inventory**, so profits on its sale are **treated as business income**, not capital gains. This is because the land is held for **business purpose and trading**.
2. **Agricultural land exemption under Income Tax** (like exemption on capital gains) typically applies **only to capital assets** and **not to stock-in-trade**. So, if land is held as SIT, income from its sale is **business income**, and **agricultural land exemption does not apply**.
3. Therefore, **even if the land is agricultural in nature, but held as SIT, you cannot treat it as an exempt agricultural capital asset for tax purposes**.
4. **Splitting SIT into agricultural and non-agricultural parts for claiming exemption is not permitted** because the entire land is treated as stock-in-trade, and tax treatment applies accordingly.
5. If Mr. X wants to claim agricultural land exemption, he would need to **reclassify the agricultural land as a capital asset (not SIT)**, which depends on facts like holding intention, usage, etc. This is not simply a book-entry change but requires genuine change in usage or holding pattern.
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### Summary:
* **Land held as SIT → Profits from sale taxed as business income** (no agricultural land exemption). * **No dividing SIT for exemption purposes** — all treated uniformly. * **Agricultural land exemption applies only to capital assets, not SIT**.
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If you want, I can help draft a note or explanation for Mr. X’s tax filing or further clarify any related points!