2009 (9) TMI 992 - AT - Income Tax

Summary

Issues involved:
The issue raised is the treatment of income from sub-licensing of commercial space as income from business and profession instead of income from house property.

Summary:

Issue 1: Treatment of income from sub-licensing
The appellant, a company dealing in chemicals, sub-leased office premises at Le-Meridian commercial tower and earned income from it. The Assessing Officer treated the income as business income, denying the claim of standard deduction. The CIT(A) upheld this decision, stating that the appellant was not the registered owner of the property and that the income was from business.
The appellant argued that the sub-leasing was done to earn rental income as the office space was excessive for its own use initially. The Tribunal found that the ownership of the property is not essential for levying tax under the head "Income from house property," citing relevant case laws.
Based on the precedents and discussions, the Tribunal set aside the lower authorities' orders and decided the issue in favor of the assessee.

Conclusion:
The appeal filed by the assessee was allowed, and the orders of the lower authorities were set aside.