Factory building rent assessed as house property income, with section 24 deduction upheld and no substantial question of law arising.

Rental income from a factory building let out as property was treated as assessable under the head "Income from House Property", and the corresponding deduction under section 24 was accepted. The concurrent findings of the lower authorities were that the Income-tax Act does not distinguish, for section 22 purposes, between a factory building and other buildings when the property is let out. The High Court found no error in those findings and held that no substantial question of law arose from the Revenue's section 260A challenge.

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Issues: Whether the Revenue's appeals under section 260A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 were liable to succeed against the Tribunal's finding that the rent received from the factory building let out by the assessee was assessable under the head "Income from House Property", with consequential entitlement to deduction under section 24(1).

Analysis: The assessee had let out its factory building and offered the rental income under the head "Income from House Property". The appellate authorities recorded concurrent findings that the building was let out as property and that the Income-tax Act, 1961 does not draw a distinction, for the purpose of section 22, between a factory building and other buildings when the property is let out. On that basis, the deduction claimed under section 24 was accepted and the Tribunal upheld the same. The High Court found no error in those concurrent findings and held that no substantial question of law arose.

Conclusion: The Revenue's challenge failed and the assessee succeeded on the issue.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a factory building is let out and the rental income is assessed under "Income from House Property", the benefit of section 24 follows and no substantial question of law arises merely because the property was originally used as a business unit.

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