Property leasing income depends on ownership and the assessee's interest before business-income treatment is determined.

Income from leasing properties could be treated as business income only after the factual basis was established, namely ownership of the properties and the nature of the assessee's interest in them. The Tribunal's broad assumption that letting activity may constitute business was insufficient without those findings. The character of the income, and the consequential claim for registration under the Act, depended on that factual determination, so the matter was remitted for specific findings on ownership and interest before reconsideration.

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Issues: Whether income from leasing out properties could be assessed as business income depended on the ownership of the properties and the nature of the assessee's interest therein, and whether registration under the Act could be granted on that basis.

Analysis: The Tribunal had proceeded on a broad principle that letting of properties could amount to business activity. The reference required determination of the factual foundation first, namely who owned the properties and what interest the assessee had in them. Only after those findings could the character of the income be determined. The question of registration was dependent on that determination.

Outcome: The matter was remitted to the Tribunal for specific findings on ownership and the assessee's interest in the properties, after which the issue of business income and the consequential claim for registration were to be reconsidered.

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