Ramesh sold his Pune flat in March 2026 with a long-term gain of ₹40 lakh. He wants to buy a bigger house, but he has not found the right one yet, and his ITR is due in a few months. If he does nothing, that ₹40 lakh becomes taxable. The Capital Gain Account Scheme is the legal “parking slot” that saves him.
Quick answer: If you have a long-term capital gain but have not reinvested it in a new house before your income-tax return due date, deposit the unutilised amount in a Capital Gain Account Scheme account at an authorised bank by that due date. This keeps your Section 54 or Section 54F exemption alive while you buy or build.
The Capital Gains Accounts Scheme, 1988 (CGAS) is a scheme framed by the Central Government under the Income-tax Act. It lets you place unutilised capital gains in a designated account at an authorised bank so you do not lose your exemption while you search for, buy, or construct the new asset. It is a holding account, not a permanent shelter, and the money must eventually go into the new house.
Two exemption sections create the need for CGAS:
The bridge is the deposit rule. Section 54(2) and Section 54F(4) say that any amount you have not actually used for the new house before the due date of filing your return under Section 139(1) must be deposited in a CGAS account on or before that due date. Only then can you claim the exemption in the year of sale. The scheme itself is framed under the powers given by Section 54(2), Section 54B(2), Section 54D(2), Section 54F(4) and Section 54G(2).
There are two account types under the scheme:
If the deposited amount is not used to buy or build the new house within the time limit, the unutilised amount is charged to tax as a capital gain in the year in which that period expires. So CGAS buys you time, but the clock does not stop.
Real-life example: Sunita sold listed shares in 2026 and had a long-term gain. To use Section 54F she had to invest the full net sale consideration of ₹60 lakh in a house. She found a property but the deal would close after her ITR due date. Before the due date she deposited ₹60 lakh in an Account A CGAS account at her public-sector bank, claimed the Section 54F exemption, and withdrew the money to pay the builder over the next two years. Had she deposited only her gain, her exemption would have been reduced.
You cannot file an RTI against a private bank - RTI applies only to public authorities. But you can file an RTI to a public-sector bank or to the Income-tax Department, or a grievance to the RBI Ombudsman or income-tax e-Nivaran, if a CGAS withdrawal is wrongly blocked or an exemption is wrongly disputed.
To: The Central Public Information Officer [Name of public-sector bank], [Branch]
Subject: Request for information under the Right to Information Act, 2005
Sir/Madam, Under Section 6 of the RTI Act, 2005, please provide: 1. The internal procedure and forms your branch follows to process a withdrawal from a Capital Gains Accounts Scheme, 1988 account. 2. The date my withdrawal request dated ______ (Account No. ______) was received and the current status of that request. 3. The name and designation of the official handling Capital Gains account withdrawals at this branch.
I enclose the application fee of Rs.10. Please send the reply within 30 days.
Yours faithfully, [Name, address, phone]
If the bank is private, or the dispute is about service, lodge a complaint with the RBI Integrated Ombudsman at https://cms.rbi.org.in instead. If the Assessing Officer disputes your exemption, raise a grievance through income-tax e-Nivaran on the e-filing portal.
No. If you reinvest the required amount before your return due date, there is nothing unutilised to deposit. CGAS is only for the part you have not yet spent.
On or before the due date for filing your income-tax return under Section 139(1) for the year in which you sold the asset.
Account A is a savings-type account you can withdraw from any time. Account B is a term deposit, withdrawable only after its term ends, and usually pays more interest.
Section 54 applies when you sell a residential house and reinvest the gain. Section 54F applies when you sell another long-term asset and invest the net sale consideration in a house.
The unutilised amount in the account is taxed as a capital gain in the year the reinvestment period expires.
A withdrawal must follow the scheme's rules. If it is wrongly delayed, escalate to the bank's grievance officer and then to the RBI Integrated Ombudsman at https://cms.rbi.org.in.
For Section 54 it is the unutilised capital gain. For Section 54F it is the unutilised net sale consideration.
This is general information, not tax advice. Confirm current timelines and limits with a tax professional or the Income-tax Department before acting.