Commissioner of Income Tax vs Model Manufacturing Co. (P.) Ltd.

Dipak Kumar Sen, J.—On the application of the Revenue u/s 256(1) of the Income tax Act, 1961, the following questions have been referred by the Tribunal as questions of law arising out of its order for the opinion of this court :

"(1) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the services rendered by the assessee in providing electricity, use of lifts, supply of water, maintenance of staircase and watch and ward facilities to the tenants constituted separate activities distinct from the letting out of the property and were not incidental to such letting out ?

(2) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the service charges realised were not part and parcel of the income derived from house property assessable u/s 22 of the Income tax Act, 1961, and that they were assessable under the head ''Income from other sources''?

(3) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was justified in law in holding that depreciation on lifts and transformers was allowable u/s 57 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 ?"

The controversies raised in questions Nos. (1) and (2) are covered by a decision of this court in the case of the same assessee in Income Tax Reference No. 261 of 1976 intituted in CIT v. Model Manufacturing Co. (P.) Ltd., where the judgment was delivered on March 12, 1981.

Following the said judgment, we answer both the questions in the affirmative and against the Revenue.

Question No. (3) is ancillary to question No. (2) and in view of the answer to question No. (2), we answer question No. (3) in the affirmative and against the Revenue.

In the facts and circumstances of the case, there will be no order as to costs.

Shyamal Kumar Sen, J.

I agree.