Lease covenant to maintain premises does not by itself shift repair costs; deduction for repairs remains available.

A lease covenant requiring the tenant to maintain the premises, including periodic painting and snowcem washing, did not amount to an undertaking to bear repair costs under section 24 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The covenant was read as reflecting the tenant's statutory duty under section 108(m) of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, to keep the property in as good a condition as when let, subject to fair wear and tear and irresistible force. Because the deed distinguished maintenance from repairs and contained no express or necessary obligation to repair or renew, the assessee remained entitled to the deduction for repairs.

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Issues: Whether, on the terms of the lease deed, the tenant had undertaken to bear the cost of repairs so as to disentitle the assessee to the deduction for repairs under section 24 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: The lease clause required the tenant to maintain the building and fittings, including periodic painting and snowcem washing, but did not impose an obligation to effect repairs or renewal. The covenant was treated as a reiteration of the tenant's existing statutory duty under section 108(m) of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, which requires the tenant to keep the property in as good a condition as it was let, subject to fair wear and tear and irresistible force. The language of the deed distinguished maintenance from repairs, and the absence of any express reference to repairs showed that the tenant had not agreed to bear repair costs within the meaning of section 24.

Conclusion: The tenant had not undertaken to bear the cost of repairs, and the deduction for repairs was allowable.

Ratio Decidendi: A lease covenant requiring a tenant to maintain the premises, even with specified upkeep such as painting, does not by itself amount to an undertaking to bear repair costs unless the obligation to repair is expressly or necessarily imposed.

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