On February 4, 2026, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Delhi ruled that a gift of property made under a Hindu family settlement does not fall under the definition of transfer and, therefore, is not subject to taxation under Section 56(2)(vii)(b) as deemed income

ITAT delivered this judgement in a case filed by Smt Aggarwal, who has challenged a tax notice issued by the Income Tax (1-T) department. The tax department had flagged her case after reviewing her file and ITR (Income Tax Return), in which she had declared an income of Rs 3,40,540. The review disclosed that she had received a property valued at Rs 33,43,440 by way of a gift deed. The tax department issued a notice stating that the donor did not qualify as "specified relatives" under Section 56(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. thereby making the gift taxable.
She argued that since she received the property as part of a family settlement deal, its value is not taxable. However, the income tax assessing officer (AO) rejected her argument and added the value of the property to her income and made her liable to pay tax on this additional income.