Can a property not used for residence by the taxpayer be treated as self occupied property?

Ans. A self-occupied property means a property which is occupied throughout the year by the owner for his residence. Thus, a property not occupied by the owner for his residence cannot be treated as a self occupied property. However, there is one exception to this rule. If the following conditions are satisfied, then the property can be treated as self-occupied and the annual value of a property will be "Nil", even though the property is not occupied by the owner throughout the year for his residence :

(a) The taxpayer owns a property;

(b) Such property cannot actually be occupied by him owing to his employment, business or profession carried on at any other place and he has to reside at that other place in a building not owned by him;

(c) The property mentioned in (a) above (or part thereof) is not actually let out at any time during the year;

(d)  No other benefit is derived from such property.