Tax liability attached to a demutualized stock exchange
When a trading right is acquired, and a share is allotted to a member of an stock exchange by virtue of which he acquires a membership privilege against the extinguishment of the previous right of membership, no transfer of assets effectively takes place and neither of the acquisitions should therefore be deemed to be a transfer within the meaning of the word in the Income Tax Act. However, at the point of sale of any of these two rights, capital gains tax would be attracted. Since the above processes are necessary to implement a policy announced by the Government, and in the larger interests of the securities market in India as well as in the interests of investors, it would be necessary to ensure that both the processes described above are tax neutral and no additional tax liability is attached either to the stock exchange or to a member of Continue reading