2014 (1) TMI 705 - AT - Income Tax

Nature of Income received income from house property or income from other sources - Air-conditioning and other charges - Disallowance of property maintenance expenses Held that - Following Commissioner of Income-Tax West Bengal I Versus Kanak Investments Private Limited. 1973 (5) TMI 15 - CALCUTTA High Court - Income from air conditioning and other charges has to be assessed as income from other sources - while computing the income from other sources the assessee will be entitled for deduction of expenses u/s 57 - This aspect of allowability of expenses u/s 57 is required to be examined at the level of AO the order set aside and the matter remitted back to AO for computation of income from other sources Decided partly in favour of Assessee.

Summary

Issues:
Nature of income received by the assessee from air conditioning and other charges, disallowance of property maintenance expenses, double disallowance of property maintenance charges.

Analysis:
1. The dispute in this case revolves around the assessment of income received by the assessee from providing air conditioning and other services to tenants of Mafatlal Centre. The Assessing Officer (AO) treated the entire income, including rental income and additional charges, as income from house property. The assessee contended that income from such services should be assessed separately as income from business or other sources, citing relevant legal precedents. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) (CIT (A)) upheld the AO's decision, stating that the charges were integral to the landlord-tenant relationship and thus should be considered part of income from house property. The assessee appealed to the Tribunal against this decision.

2. The Tribunal analyzed the legal position and referred to the judgment of the Hon'ble High Court of Kolkata in the case of Kanak Investment Pvt. Ltd., which held that when there is a composite rent for property and services, the amounts should be split for assessment. The Tribunal noted that the rental income had already been assessed as income from house property, and the issue was whether the charges for services should be treated as income from other sources. Drawing on legal precedents, the Tribunal concluded that the charges for air conditioning and other services should indeed be assessed as income from other sources, not as part of income from house property.

3. The Tribunal distinguished the case from a judgment cited by the Revenue, pointing out that the earlier case did not address the specific scenario where rental income and service charges needed separate assessment. Additionally, the Tribunal discussed a Supreme Court judgment related to the distinction between income from property and business income, emphasizing that in this case, the primary intention was not commercial exploitation but enjoyment of rental value. Therefore, the Tribunal held that the income from services should be treated as income from other sources, allowing for the deduction of expenses under Section 57.

4. Consequently, the Tribunal partly allowed the assessee's appeal, setting aside the computation of income from other sources for the Assessing Officer to reevaluate and determine after considering allowable expenses. The Tribunal's decision clarified the treatment of income from services in addition to rental income, providing a legal basis for assessing such charges separately as income from other sources rather than lumping them under income from house property.