MUMBAI, Aug. 22 -- The Bombay High Court had recently directed the Income Tax Department to charge the sale of a vintage car, Ford Tourer, with capital gains tax that was bought for Rs.20,000 in 1983 and sold for Rs.21 lakh in 1994. The person who had sold the car claimed that the car was for his personal use and appealed to the high court seeking relief from the capital gains tax charged on the sale. Stating that he couldn't prove the personal utility of the vintage car, the court concluded that the purchase was for 'pride of possession' and upheld the application of the tax. The incident dates back to 1993, when a salaried person, Narendra Bhuva, filed returns on his income for the year 1992-93, declaring a total income of Rs.2,79,440. The then assessing officer of the Income Tax Department noticed that Bhuva had purchased a vintage car, 1931 Ford Tourer, in 1983 for Rs.20,000 and had sold it for Rs.21 lakh in 1994, which he claimed as the sale of personal property and was exempted from the tax. Not accepting the claim, the assessing officer charged him Rs.2,08,000 tax on the sale in 1994. Following this, Bhuva appealed to the commissioner of income tax against the capital gains tax charged on the sale, stating that the car was for his personal use. Noting that vintage cars could not be used often owing to their high maintenance costs, the commissioner accepted the claim. Aggrieved by the commissioner's decision, the revenue department challenged it in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), which set aside the commissioner's order stating that the car was not used for 'personal affect', mandating Bhuva to pay the capital gains tax on the sale of the vintage car. Following this, Bhuva appealed to the high court, seeking relief for the tax. In the hearing on August 14, the division bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice Sandeep Marne upheld the ITAT's decision, emphasising that Bhuva failed to provide evidence for the vintage car being put to personal use, justifying the addition of capital gains tax....