ITAT Upholds CIT(A) Ruling, Excludes West Tower Rental Income from Assessee's House Property Income for 2013-15.

The ITAT dismissed the Revenue's appeals for A.Ys. 2013-14 and 2014-15, affirming the CIT(A)'s decision in favor of the assessee. The Tribunal upheld that the rental income from West Tower should not be added as income from house property, relying on the Delhi HC's previous ruling in the assessee's case.

---

---

Issues:
1. Addition of income from house property for Assessment Years 2013-14 & 2014-15.

Detailed Analysis:
The appeals were filed by the Revenue against the order passed by CIT(A)-2, New Delhi for Assessment Years 2013-14 & 2014-15 regarding the addition of income from house property. The facts of both appeals for A.Ys. 2013-14 and 2014-15 were found to be identical, focusing on the assessee company running a 5 Star Super Deluxe Hotel in New Delhi. The Assessing Officer observed that the assessee owned a property known as West Tower adjacent to the hotel building, which was sub-licensed to various parties. The Assessing Officer estimated the annual rental income of West Tower at Rs. 6,96,49,798 and taxed it as income from house property, leading to an appeal by the assessee before the CIT(A).

The CIT(A) allowed the appeal of the assessee, citing a previous decision of the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the assessee's own case for Assessment Year 2008-09. The Revenue contended that the non-charging of rental income by the assessee for West Tower was based on fact and law, as the assessee received rent in the form of interest-free security deposits from the sub-licensees of the property. The Revenue argued that the addition made by the Assessing Officer should be upheld, referring to various judgments of Hon'ble High Courts to support their stance.

In response, the assessee relied on the order of the CIT(A) and the Hon'ble Delhi High Court decision in the assessee's case for A.Y. 2008-09. The Tribunal considered the arguments presented by both parties and referred to the decision of the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the case of CIT Vs. C. J. International Hotels Ltd. The Tribunal upheld the decision of the CIT(A) and dismissed the appeals of the Revenue for both A.Ys. 2013-14 and 2014-15, in line with the decision of the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the assessee's own case on a similar issue.

Therefore, based on the legal precedents and the decision of the Hon'ble Delhi High Court, the Tribunal dismissed both appeals of the Revenue, affirming the decision of the CIT(A) in favor of the assessee regarding the addition of income from the house property for the respective assessment years.

---