My brother sold a house that he inherited from our father and gave me Rs 10 lakh from the sale proceeds. Am I liable to pay tax on this amount? Under which head should I report this income in my ITR?

Amit Maheshwari Partner, Ashok Maheshwary and Associates replies, "As the house was inherited by your brother, he is liable to pay the capital gains tax on its sale proceeds, as he was the owner of the property. According to Section 56(2) of the Income Tax Act, any sum received from relatives is not chargeable to tax. So, if this amount is received as gift from your brother, it will be exempt in your hand. It is advisable to disclose the amount received you under ‘exempt income’ head in your income tax return."

I bought a commercial property in 1999-2000 in Delhi and had been using it for my own business. Now I want to sell it. To save capital gains tax, will I have to invest just the gains or the entire sale proceeds in bonds specified under Sec 54EC?

Rakesh Bhargava Director, Taxmann replies, "You are required to invest the capital gains and not the entire sale proceeds to claim Section 54EC tax exemption. Investment in bonds issued by NHAI or RECL has to be done within six month of the date of sale of the property. You can claim a maximum deduction of `50 lakh under Section 54EC."