What are the tax implications of receiving a gift?

livemint.com:

MUMBAI : Imagine you receive a gift of substantial value, e.g., cash from your father or an apartment from your uncle. Are you liable to pay taxes on it? No, you aren't. However, if the gift were from a non-relative, let's say a friend, you would've needed to pay taxes to be on the right side of the law.

When it comesto the tax treatment of gifts, the rules are pretty specific. Gifts received from relatives are fully exempt. Gifts from non-relatives up to ₹50,000 per year are also exempt.

Gifts worth above ₹50,000 from non-relatives are taxed on the aggregate gift value. Meaning that if the gift value is ₹75,000, the tax will be applicable on the entire amount. There is only one exception to this rule, and that is marriage.

It is the only occasion when gifts from relatives and friends are entirely tax-exempt. The government introduced a gift tax in April 1958, regulated by the Gift Tax Act, 1958 (GTA), to impose taxes on giving and receiving gifts under certain specific circumstances. The Act covered gifts in the form of cash, demand drafts, bank cheques or anything valuable.

The Act was repealed in 1998, and the taxation of gifts was later incorporated into the Income Tax Act under Section 56(2). The definition of "relatives" for the purpose of gift tax exemption is extensive. It includes your spouse,parents, grandparents, siblings, siblings of your spouse, siblings of your parents and direct lineal ascendants and descendants.