House rent allowance exemption requires proof of genuine tenancy; bare rent receipts without corroboration are insufficient.

House rent allowance exemption under section 10(13A) was denied because the claimed tenancy was not proved genuine. The assessee relied on cash rent receipts and later affidavits for alleged rent paid to her mother, but the surrounding facts pointed elsewhere: her residential address remained her own jointly owned flat, she lived there with her family, and there was no leave and licence agreement, bank proof of payment, society intimation, or other corroboration of tenancy at the mother's flat. The mother's failure to disclose the alleged rent in returns for several years further weakened the claim. Applying the burden of proof and human probabilities, the arrangement was treated as not bona fide.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to exemption of house rent allowance under section 10(13A) on the basis of alleged rent payments to her mother for residence in the mother's flat.

Analysis: The assessee claimed that she paid monthly rent in cash to her mother and relied mainly on rent receipts and later affidavits. The material on record showed that the assessee's residential address was consistently reflected as her own jointly owned flat, that she lived there with her husband and daughter, and that there was no leave and license agreement, no bank-based proof of rent payment, and no supporting correspondence or society intimation showing tenancy at the mother's flat. The mother did not file returns for several years to disclose the alleged rent, and the surrounding facts, tested on the touchstone of burden of proof and human probabilities, did not support the claimed tenancy. The alleged arrangement was therefore treated as not genuine.

Conclusion: The exemption under section 10(13A) was rightly denied and the assessee's claim failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A claim for house rent allowance exemption must be supported by credible evidence showing actual tenancy and genuine rent payment; bare rent receipts, without corroborative proof and in the face of contrary surrounding facts, do not discharge the assessee's burden.

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