1. In consequence of the difference of opinion between the learned Judicial Member and learned Accountant Member of the Division Bench, the Hon’ble President, Income-tax Appellate Tribunal has nominated me as Third Member of the Bench, on the following points of difference :

1.Whether deduction on account of housing norm and auto norm made by the employer from the base pay of the assessee in lieu of free housing and transport facility provided in India as per the terms of employment, falls within the definition of perquisite enshrined in section 17(2)(iii) of the Indian Income-tax Act and form part of the base pay and is exigible to tax ?

2.Whether a profit or benefit earned/acquired by the assessee on account of exercise of stock option, earlier granted, in terms of his employment on subsequent dates and its sale is a perquisite as per provisions of section 17(2) of the Indian Income-tax Act or capital gain ?

2. I have heard the parties and perused the records.

I will first take up the first point of dispute for consideration.

3. Though the facts of this case have been described by the learned Members of the Bench, I, for the sake of coherence, would like to refer to some of these