In Brief
A partnership firm revalued its assets by Rs. 17.34 crores on 01.01.1993 and credited the revalued amount to all partners' capital accounts. Newly inducted partners, who contributed only Rs. 2.5 to 4.5 lakhs each, received credits of over Rs. 1.5 to 3 crores. The tax authority added the revaluation surplus as short-term capital gains under Section 45(4) of the Income Tax Act. The ITAT and High Court deleted this addition, relying on the pre-1987 judgment in Hind Construction Ltd. The Supreme Court reversed both lower courts, holding that Section 45(4)—inserted by the Finance Act, 1987—applies to asset distribution in subsisting partnerships, not merely on dissolution. The word 'otherwise' in Section 45(4) extends the provision beyond dissolution. Revaluation and crediting to capital accounts, when amounts are available for withdrawal, constitutes a taxable 'transfer'. The Court approved the Bombay High Court's interpretation in A.N. Naik Associates and distinguished Hind Construction Ltd. as pre-amendment law. The appeal was allowed and the Assessing Officer's original order restored.
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