And for lease rent the same will be taxable either under the head Business income or house property depending upon certains tests as below:
Rental income v. Business income
Even for real estate businessman income from property is ‘property income’ for period of ownership - If an assessee carries on business of purchasing and selling buildings, income received from the buildings so long as they are owned by the assessee will be shown under the head ‘Income from house property’ and not under the head ‘Profits and gains of business’ - CIT v. Chugandas & Co. [1965] 55 ITR 17 (SC).
If letting out of premises is part of business operations income from such premises is business income - Where there is a letting out of premises and collection of rents, the assessment of income as property income may be correct, but not so where the letting or sub-letting is part of a trading operation. In latter case it would be a trading receipt. A company formed with the specific object of acquiring properties not with the view to leasing them as property but to selling them or turning them to account even by way of leasing them out as an integral part of its business, cannot be treated as landowner but has to be treated as trader. In deciding whether a company dealt with its properties as owner, one must see not to the form which it gave to the transaction but to the substance of the matter - Karanpura Development Co. Ltd. v. CIT [1962] 44 ITR 362 (SC).
Income from godown initially self-used but later let out, is assessable as property income - Where the assessee had constructed a godown and used it for storing its raw materials and finished products, but subsequently the assessee let out the same and derived income from rent, it was held that the income derived by the assessee by letting out the godown was income derived from property and not income derived from business - Rampur Industries Ltd. v. CIT [1971] 82 ITR 23 (All.)/Parekh Traders v. CIT [1984] 150 ITR 310 (Bom.)/Maharashtra Fertilizers & Chemicals v. CIT [1984] 150 ITR 317 (Bom.).
Income from paying guest establishment is business income - Where owner of property is running paying guest establishment, income from property is assessable as business income - Manohar Singh v. CIT [1965] 58 ITR 592 (Punj.).
In case of clubs - Assessee club’s income from swimming pool and stadium would be assessable as business income and not as property income where there was no element of rent for use of the swimming pool and the stadium by the members and the outsiders - CIT v. National Sports Club of India (No. 1) [1998] 230 ITR 777 (Delhi).
Tenant sub-letting premises - Where the assessee in occupation of rented premises sub-let a portion thereof and claimed that income from such sub-letting was assessable as business income, the department was justified in assessing the said income under ‘Income from house property’, in view of the fact that the assessee was in full control in his capacity as a tenant, and had earned income by sub-letting of the property. In situations of this type, there is nothing to suggest that ownership of the premises is essential for levying tax under the head “Income from house property” - Smarts (P.) Ltd. v. CIT [2008] 166 Taxman 53 (Delhi).
Income from commercial complexes - Even in the case of commercial complexes, mere letting out the property and deriving income should be assessed only under the head ‘Income from house property’ and not under ‘Income from business’. However, where the lease agreements provided that certain independent services are also covered apart from the letting of premises and a composite rent is received, the authorities should bifurcate the receipts into portion thereof which is attributable to the provision of such services and assess them under ‘Income from business’ or ‘Income from other sources’. The remaining portion will be taxable under ‘Income from house property’ - A.R. Complex v. ITO [2008] 167 Taxman 46 (Mad.).
If the income is from subletting then only income taxable under income from other sources.