The High Court held that rent income derived from letting out ...

Income from letting properties treated as business profits, not house property.

Case Laws     Income Tax

October 24, 2024

The High Court held that rent income derived from letting out properties by the assessee should be treated as 'Income from Profits and Gains of Business' and not 'Income from House Property'. The key considerations were: the assessee's main objective as per the Memorandum of Association was to earn income from letting out properties, making it the principal business activity; the nature of activity and operations, not merely ownership of properties, determines the head of income; the income was derived from the assessee's main business of letting out properties. The Court distinguished situations where property income is incidental to the main business. Following the Supreme Court's decision in Chennai Properties, the Court held that the Tribunal erred in treating the rent income as 'Income from House Property' instead of 'Income from Profits and Gains of Business'. Consequently, the appeals were allowed in favor of the assessee.

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