Two different floors of one house property cannot be treated as two different residential houses

ITO Vs. Nathamuni Krishnaswamy Balaji (ITAT Chennai)

It is an undisputed fact that both the ground floor and first floor bearing same residential number, i.e., 64,/43, 28th Cross Street, Indira Nagar, Adyar, Chennai, contiguous to each other and are within a common boundary and a common compound. Further, the property tax and water tax are paid for the entire house as a whole and it is a composite unit till now it continues to remain the same. On verification of the Property tax details of 4-9-2014, the learned Commissioner (Appeals) has noticed that the above said property is mentioned as single independent building in the name of the assessee.

In the case of Shiv Narain Choudhari v. CWT (supra), the Hon’ble Allahabad High Court has held that several self-contained dwelling houses which were contiguous and situated in the same compound and within common boundaries and having unity of structure could be regarded as one single residential unit. Further, by relying on the above decision in the case of Shiv Narain Choudhari v. CWT (supra), in the case of CWT v. Mrs. Najima Nizar 197 ITR 258, the Hon’ble Kerala High Court has held that exemption under section 5(1)(iv) of the Act is allowable in respect of the value of the whole building and not merely in respect of the value of one of the shop rooms comprising the building even if each shop room bears a different municipal number.

Full Text of the ITAT Order is as follows:-

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