Purposive interpretation of residential house exemption: unregistered purchase agreement alone does not defeat relief, but investment must be verified...
The ITAT held that where contemporaneous accounts, receipts and audited records showed the premises was actively used for the assessee's business during the year, the property fell outside section 22 and the deeming fiction for annual letting value under section 23 did not apply. Receipts linked to school operations and later tax treatment of advance educational collections supported the business-use explanation, which the Revenue did not rebut. It also found the Assessing Officer's notional valuation at a percentage of cost to be arbitrary, so the addition for deemed rental income was deleted and the Revenue's appeal dismissed; the reopening challenge in cross-objection was left open as academic.
The ITAT held that where contemporaneous accounts, receipts and audited records showed the premises was actively used for the assessee's business during the year, the property fell outside section 22 and the deeming fiction for annual letting value under section 23 did not apply. Receipts linked to school operations and later tax treatment of advance educational collections supported the business-use explanation, which the Revenue did not rebut. It also found the Assessing Officer's notional valuation at a percentage of cost to be arbitrary, so the addition for deemed rental income was deleted and the Revenue's appeal dismissed; the reopening challenge in cross-objection was left open as academic.
Note: It is a system-generated summary and is for quick reference only.