HC dismissed the assessee's challenge and upheld the concurrent...

HC dismissed the assessee's challenge and upheld the concurrent findings of the AO, CIT(A) and ITAT that the premises' annual value under s.23 was Rs.22,00,000. The court held the assessee could not rely on developer/society letters not pressed before the tribunal and had failed to prove any municipal rateable value; the doctrine of standard rent was inapplicable as no statutory tenancy under rent control existed. The AO permissibly conducted an independent enquiry, considering comparable instances, overdraft return and the usufructual effect of a substantial security deposit; notional interest alone could not determine annual value. Decision against the assessee.

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