Self-occupied house property treatment of multiple flats remitted for fresh examination after additional evidence was not considered.

Section 23 of the Income-tax Act was applied to multiple residential units held by the assessee, raising whether the flats could be treated as one self-occupied house property instead of deemed let-out properties. Additional evidence, including a co-owner's order treating the same flats as one house property, had not been considered by the lower authorities. The Tribunal found no estoppel against the assessee adopting a different treatment and stated that the arrangement could not be characterised as a colourable device. The matter was remitted to the Assessing Officer for fresh consideration after examining the additional evidence, resulting in partial relief to the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the assessee's flats could be treated as one self occupied house property and whether the additions made by treating them as deemed let out properties and estimating notional rental income required reconsideration in light of additional evidence.

Analysis: The dispute concerned the application of section 23 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 to multiple residential units held by the assessee. The record also contained additional evidence in the form of an order in the case of a co-owner relating to the same flats, where the units had been treated as one house property. The Tribunal found that this evidence had not been placed before the authorities below and considered it appropriate that the Assessing Officer examine it. It further held that the assessee was not barred by any estoppel from offering the property as self occupied and deemed let out in a different manner, and that the tax planning adopted could not be said to be a colourable device.

Conclusion: The issue was remitted to the Assessing Officer for fresh consideration after taking the additional evidence into account. The assessee obtained partial relief.

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