Separate maintenance charges under a lease were treated as service receipts, not income from house property.

Where maintenance charges are separately stipulated under a lease deed and are clearly referable to services such as security, power backup, lifts, common-area upkeep and cleaning, they are not part of the rent attributable to the property. Only the rent for letting the premises is assessable as income from house property, while separately identifiable service-related receipts are taxed under the appropriate separate head. On the stated facts, the maintenance charges were treated as consideration for services and not for the letting of the commercial floors, so they were assessable as income from other sources.

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Issues: Whether maintenance charges received under the lease arrangements were assessable as income from house property or as income from other sources.

Analysis: The assessee owned and let out commercial floors and separately recovered maintenance charges under a distinct clause in the lease deed at a fixed rate per square foot. The receipts were for services and facilities such as security, power backup, lifts, common-area maintenance, cleaning, and allied amenities, and were distinct from the rent fixed for the letting of the premises. Where rent and service charges are separately identifiable, only the rent attributable to the property can be assessed under the head income from house property, while the receipts referable to services are to be treated separately. On the facts, the maintenance charges were held to be clearly attributable to services and not to the letting of the property itself.

Conclusion: The maintenance charges were not assessable as income from house property and were taxable as income from other sources in the assessee's hands.

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