By Jagdish D. Shah | Jagdish T. Punjabi
Chartered Accountants
11.
Citi Centre Premises Co-Op. Society Ltd.
vs. Income Tax Officer (Mumbai) Member:
A.K. Garodia (A. M.) ITA No.: 3029 and 3030 / Mum / 18 A.Y.:
2013-14 and 2014-15 Dated: 1st February, 2019
Counsel for Assessee/Revenue: Lalchand
Choudhary/Vijay Kumar Soni Section 24(a) – Rental income earned by a
co-operative society for letting out the building terrace is
assessable under the head ‘Income from House Property’ and is entitled to
deduction u/s. 24(a).
FACTS
The contention of the assessee before the
Tribunal was that rental income earned by a co-operative society, the assessee,
for letting out the building terrace and permitting erection and installing of
cell phone towers thereon in the building owned by it was assessable under the
head ‘Income from House Property’ and not as ‘Income from other sources’ as
assessed by the AO. Therefore, the assesse claimed, it was entitled to
deduction u/s. 24(a).
According to the AO, for assessing an income
earned in respect of a property as an income from house property, the property
in question should be fit for habitation.
According to him an open plot/ terrace cannot be termed as house
property as it is the common amenity for use of members of the assessee society
and cannot be used for habitation.
HELD
According to
the Tribunal, the facts in the case of the assessee were identical with the
facts in the case of Matru Ashish Co-operative Housing Society Ltd., vs. ITO
[27 taxmann.com 169] before the Mumbai Tribunal. As held in the said case, the tribunal held
that income from letting out of the terrace was to be assessed under the head
‘income from house property’ subject to deduction u/s. 24, as against income
from other sources, as assessed by the AO.
In the result the appeal filed by the assessee
was allowed.
