M/S RAO COMPUTER CONSULTANTS PVT.LTD., V. THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER

ITA/850/2018

AI Insights

The case involves M/s Rao Computer Consultants Pvt. Ltd., the appellant, contesting an order by the Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal which treated income from letting out buildings in an industrial park as 'income from house property' for the assessment year 2010-11. The appellant argued that this income should be treated as business income, not house property income, citing a precedent and a departmental circular that supported their position. The High Court, referencing a prior judgment in a similar case involving the same parties, ruled in favor of the appellant, quashing the Tribunal's order.

• Counselvise Citation: [2021] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 726744 (HC-KARNATAKA)
• Appeal Type: Others
• Pronouncement Date: 23-08-2021
• Assessment Year: misc
• Other Referred Cases: M/s Rao Computers Consultants Pvt. Ltd. Vs. The Joint Commissioner of Income Tax
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Others
• Court: HIGH COURT
• Department Lawyers: E I SANMATHI
• Assessee Lawyers: HARISH
• Keywords: Brokerage; Commercial Activity; Depreciation; Income from house property; Industrial park; Insurance; Letting out buildings
• Section: 260A

Judgement Text

"1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 23RD DAY OF AUGUST, 2021 PRESENT THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE ALOK ARADHE AND THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR ITA NO.850 OF 2018 BETWEEN: M/S RAO COMPUTER CONSULTANTS PVT. LTD., NEIL RAO TOWERS, PLOT NO. 118, ROAD NO.3, EPIP I PHASE, WHITEFIELD BANGALORE - 560 066 REPRESENTED BY ITS DIRECTOR SRI DHANUNJAYA VAYUGUNDLA RAO S/O LATE BASAVAIAH, AGED ABOUT 53 YEARS, PAN NO. AAACR 8427R. ... APPELLANT (BY SRI HARISH, ADVOCATE FOR SMT. VANI H, ADVOCATE ) AND: THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, CIRCLE 12(4) BANGALORE. ... RESPONDENT (BY SRI E.I.SANMATHI, ADVOCATE FOR SRI K.V.ARAVIND, ADVOCATE) - - - THIS ITA IS FILED UNDER SECTION 260-A OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961 ARISING OUT OF ORDER DATED: 28/09/2018 PASSED IN ITA NO.2623/BANG/2017, FOR THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2010-2011 PRAYING TO: 2 (A) FORMULATE THE SUBSTANTIAL QUESTIONS OF LAW STATED ABOVE. (B) ALLOW THE APPEAL AND SET ASIDE THE IMPUGNED ORDER OF THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL PASSED IN ITA NO.2623/BANG/2017 RELATING TO ASSESSMENT YEAR 2010-2011, DATED: 28.09.2018 AND ETC., THIS ITA COMING ON FOR HEARING, THIS DAY, ALOK ARADHE J., DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: JUDGMENT Mr. Harish H.Y., learned counsel for the appellant. Mr. E.I.Sanmathi, learned counsel for the revenue. 2. This appeal under Section 260A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the Act for short) has been preferred by the assesse against the order dated 28.09.2018 passed by the Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal, Bengaluru in ITA No.2623/Bang/2017. The subject matter of the appeal pertains to the Assessment year 2010-11. The appeal was admitted by a bench of this Court vide order dated 18.03.2019 on the following substantial question of law: 3 \"1. Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case,the findings of the Appellate Tribunal that income earned by the appellant from complex commercial activity of letting out of the building along with other amenities in the industrial park shall be treated as 'income fro house property' are perverse and illegal? 2. Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the authorities below erred in treating the business income derived from complex commercial activities of letting out buildings along with the other amenities in an industrial park as income from house property ignoring the law laid down by this Hon'ble Court in the case of Velankani Information Systems and the Circular issued by the Department? 3. Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case the authorities below erred in disallowing the expenditure towards insurance, brokerage and depreciation incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the business of complex commercial letting out services and whether the findings of the Appellate Tribunal in this regard are perverse?\" 4 3. When the matter was taken up today, the learned counsel for the assessee submits that the substantial questions of law involved in this appeal have already been answered in favour of the assessee by this Court vide judgment dated 26.5.2021 in the case of M/s Rao Computers Consultants Pvt. Ltd. Vs. The Joint Commissioner of Income Tax in ITA No.711/2017. 4. The aforesaid submission could not be disputed by the learned counsel for the revenue. 5. For the reason assigned by us in the afore- mentioned judgment supra the substantial questions of law framed in this appeal are answered in favour of the assessee and against the revenue. 6. Accordingly, order dated 28.09.2018 passed by the Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal, Bengaluru in ITA 5 No.2623/Bang/2017 relating to assessment year 2010- 11 is here by quashed. In the result, the appeal is allowed. Sd/- JUDGE Sd/- JUDGE HR "