- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) Respondent is a private limited company. It carries on the business, inter alia, of hire purchase. Respondent took on lease a land with existing structure. The lease deed was entered into on 30-10-1986. The lease was for ten years. Respondent demolished the structure and constructed a multi-storeyed building which was let out to Canara Bank and others. Respondent received hiring charges and maintenance charges from the lessees. Thereafter, the respondent filed its returns for the assessment year 1997-98. The assessment officer (AO) held that it was an income from house property and not from business as claimed by the assessee in its returns. The assessment order was confirmed by the Commissioner (Appeals) and cases for earlier assessment years from 1992-2000 were ordered to be reopened by issuance of notice u/s 148 of the Income Tax Act.
(3.) Aggrieved by the decision of the Commissioner (Appeals), the matter was carried in appeal to the Tribunal. Vide Order dated 17-6-2005, the Tribunal held that hire charges received by the assessee were liable to be assessed as business income and not as income from property. Against the above notices u/s 148 reopening the assessments, the assessee, however, filed Writ Petn. No. 656 of 2001. The assessee also filed separate writ petition for each of the assessment year in which reopening was ordered. Those assessment years are 1992-93, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99 and 1999-2000.;