Income from House Property: transferred infrastructure receipts treated as rental; no double addition, AO must verify taxpayer computation.

Receipts from the successor licensee (CNIL) retain the character of rental income and are assessable as income from house property; the appellate direction treating the receipt under that head is operative. The Assessing Officer is required to verify the assessee's computation showing the amount was already offered as income from house property and must not make any further or separate addition in respect of the same receipt, thereby preventing double addition. The operative effect is verification by the AO and prohibition on duplicate assessment of the identical receipt.

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Issues: (i) Whether the amount of Rs. 5,77,284 received from Chennai Network Infrastructure Limited (CNIL) is assessable as income from house property and, if so, whether any further addition would result in impermissible double addition.

Analysis: The facts show that CNIL stepped into the position of the original licensee pursuant to transfer of the infrastructure business, and the receipts retained the character of rental income arising from use of immovable property. The learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) directed that the CNIL receipt be treated as income from house property; the assessee has placed on record a computation showing that the same receipt was already offered under that head. In these circumstances the Assessing Officer is required to verify the assessee's computation and ensure that no separate or further addition is made in respect of the same receipt.

Conclusion: Issue (i) decided in favour of the assessee; the CNIL receipt is assessable as income from house property and no double addition is warranted.

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