ITAT Delhi held in the case of Manpreet Singh Vs. ITO, I.T.A. No.: 3976/Del/13 that Rent received from mobile Tower which has been erected on the top at the building would be taxable under the head house property
In brief, the assessee received rent for installation of mobile antennas at the terrace and claimed a deduction @ 30% u/s 24(a). Whereas, the AO rejects the claim and treated the income as income from other sources. The CIT(A) has also taken the same view on the basis of decision pronounced by Hon’ble High Court of Calcutta in the case of Mukherjee State Pvt. Ltd. vs. CIT (2000) 244 ITR 1 (Cal) where it was held that if the rent is only for fixing the hoarding, it cannot be treated as part of the building, nor could it be treated as land appurtenant thereto, therefore such income will have to be separately considered as income from other sources and held in the in the present case that as the rent was only for providing space for installation of the mobile antennae on the top of building, and such income is taxable under the head income from other sources.
The hon’ble ITAT held that once the fact is established that “rent was only for providing space for installation of mobile antenna”, then it is irrelevant to consider whether antenna will be a part of a building or land appurtenant thereto as the true test is whether such a space, as has been rented out, is part of the building or land appurtenant thereto. The rent is not for the antenna but for the space. The space which has been rented out and, therefore, as long as the space, which has been rented out, is part of the building, the rent is required to be treated as “income from house property”.