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2016 (6) TMI 427

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....r assessment year, the assessee claimed the entire income as income from business. However, the Assessing Officer classified the entire rental income as income from house property. On further appeal, the same was also confirmed by this Tribunal and the High Court. In fact, for the assessment year 2001-02, the Madras High Court in Keyaram Hotels P. Ltd. v. ACIT (2008) 300 ITR 118 confirmed the order of this Tribunal by holding that the entire rental income is income from house property. The Madras High Court placed its reliance on the earlier Division Bench judgment in CIT v. Chennai Properties and Investments Ltd. (2004) 266 ITR 685. For the assessment years 2004-05, 2005-06, 2007-08 and 2008-09, the matter again came before the High Court in Keyaram Hotels Pvt. Ltd. v. DCIT (2015) 373 ITR 494 and by placing reliance on Chennai Properties and Investments Ltd. (supra) and on the assessee's own case for assessment year 2001-02 (supra), the High Court confirmed the order of this Tribunal by holding that the entire rental income has to be assessed as income from house property. According to the Ld. counsel, the basis for the High Court's judgment for earlier assessment year in the ....

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....deed, the Ld.counsel submitted that the assessee has not only provided lift to the building but it also has to maintain the lift. The assessee is providing internal security to the building, regulating the car parking and also taking care of day-to-day maintenance. Therefore, apart from letting out the building, the assessee has to be systematically engaged in managing the amenities such as security services, common area maintenance, lift operation, maintenance of meeting room, reading room and waiting room, etc. These facilities are to be undertaken in a systematic manner, therefore, according to the Ld. counsel, part of the rental income has to be considered as income from business. Without providing these services in a systematic and routine manner, the tenants would not have taken the building on lease. The expenditure claimed by the assessee on day-to-day maintenance in a systematic manner cannot be considered as part of the rental income. Therefore, the CIT(Appeals) for the assessment year 2003-04, rightly accepted the case of the assessee that 75% of the rental income is from house property and the balance 25% of the rental income as income from business. Therefore, accordin....

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....see, apart from letting out the property and collecting rent, provides services such as general public refreshments, maintenance of waiting room, reading room, meeting room and other conveniences, internal security, maintenance of common area and lift operation. Therefore, by placing reliance on the judgment of Kerala High Court in Attukal Shopping Complex P. Ltd. (supra), the Tribunal remanded back the issue to the file of the Assessing Officer for de novo examination of the actual operations carried on by the assessee. The Assessing Officer, after examining the entire activities of the assessee, found that the rental income has to be assessed as income from house property and not as income from business. When the matter came before the CIT(Appeals) for the assessment year 2003-04, the assessee claimed that 25% of the rental income was attributable to the services rendered for maintaining the common area, waiting room, reading room, sundry services and lift room, therefore, the 25% of rental income has to be assessed as income from business. The assessee had appealed before the CIT(Appeals) that the balance 75% of rental income has to be assessed as income from house property. Thi....

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....tenance of lift operation, providing security, maintenance of waiting hall, reading hall, etc. amount to service, therefore, part of the rent has to be classified as income from business. Accordingly, the CIT(Appeals) found that 25% of the rental income has to be treated as income from business and 75% has to be assessed as income from house property. Therefore, the Revenue filed appeal before this Tribunal for assessment year 2003-04. For other assessment years, namely, 2010-11, 2006-07 and 2009-10, the CIT(Appeals) confirmed the orders of the Assessing Officer holding that the rental income has to be treated as income from house property. 9. We have carefully gone through the judgments of Madras High Court in the assessee's own case for assessment year 2001- 02 and for assessment years 2004-05, 2005-06, 2007-08 and 2008- 09. The Madras High Court, as rightly submitted by the Ld.counsel for the assessee, placed reliance mainly on its judgment in Chennai Properties and Investments Ltd. (supra). The Madras High Court has also placed its reliance on the judgment of Apex Court in East India Housing and Land Development Trust Ltd. v. CIT (1961) 42 ITR 49. As rightly submitted by t....