31 December 2011
An assessee sale a residential one house, and earned the LTCG if he will purchase the two new residential house, so can he claim as deduction of both house in section -54
The exemption is not limited to one house only... you can avail exemption by selling one house and buying two new houses or by selling two houses and buying one houses...So you can claim exemption u/s 54 in your case...
31 December 2011
Please also take care of the following case law
When more than one house is purchased - In case the assessee has purchased more than one house/flat within the period prescribed in section 54, it is for the assessee to claim relief against the purchase of any one of the house/flat provided the other conditions mentioned in the section are satisfied - K.C. Kaushik v. P.B. Rane, ITO [1990] 84 CTR (Bom.) 62.
01 January 2012
This is a contentious issue. Courts have delivered divergent decisions. The latest decision,among others, of Punjab and Haryana high court says exemption is available in respect of ONE HOUSE only if invested in more than one residential house. Citation :- Pawan Arya Vs. CIT (2011) 237 CTR 210.