Ownership for house property income can exist without registered conveyance where possession and full consideration have passed.

Rental income from property is assessable under the head "Income from house property" where the recipient is entitled to the income in his own right for section 22 purposes. Registration of the sale deed is not indispensable; a purchaser put in possession after paying full consideration may be treated as the owner even without a registered conveyance under the Transfer of Property Act. On that basis, the rental receipts were correctly taxed as house property income and not as income from other sources.

---

---

Issues: Whether rental income from the house property was assessable in the assessee's hands under the head "Income from house property" and not as "Income from other sources".

Analysis: The question was treated as covered by the Supreme Court's ruling that, for the purpose of section 22 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, registration of the sale deed is not indispensable. The decisive test is whether the person is entitled to receive the income from the property in his own right. Where the purchaser has been put in possession on payment of the full consideration, such person may be regarded as the owner for section 22 purposes, even if no registered conveyance under section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act has been executed.

Conclusion: The rental income was correctly assessable under the head "Income from house property", and not as "Income from other sources". The answer was returned in favour of the assessee and against the Revenue.

Ratio Decidendi: For the purpose of section 22 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, "owner" includes a person entitled to receive the income from the property in his own right, and registered conveyance is not a precondition where possession and full consideration have passed to the purchaser.

---