TMI Blog1974 (8) TMI 40X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sessee was owned by him and the assessee was entitled to depreciation under section 32 of the Income-tax Act, 1961? " The assessee is the lessee of the Ramakrishna Mission for the premises known as " Lawlys Buildings " situated on Exhibition Road, Patna. Hotel Republic, during the accounting year corresponding to the assessment year 1966-67, was being run by the assessee in the said building. It constructed the third floor in the building and claimed depreciation on account of additions and alterations made by it in the building under section 32 of the Act, claiming that it is the owner of that portion of the building which was constructed by it by additions and alterations. The Income-tax Officer disallowed the claim for the reasons sta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he application under section 256(1) of the Act did not state in the statement of facts appended thereto that the Tribunal had misconstrued the terms of the deed of lease nor did it ask the Tribunal to make the indenture of lease as an annexure and as part of the statement of the case. Accordingly, the lease is also not before us. We have to decide this reference on the basis of what has been said by the Tribunal in its appellate order. In paragraph 6 of the appellate order of the Tribunal it is clearly stated that the entire third floor had been constructed by the assessee and the same was being used for the purposes of the business of running the hotel. It was a capital expenditure incurred by the assessee on the construction of the thi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ndition. This was possible only if the assessee was the owner of the third floor. The finding given by the Tribunal is very well within the concept of law. It is not foreign to it. A lessee of a land may construct a building, use it for business purposes and, if he is the owner of it, as were the facts of the case before the Mysore High Court in Y. V. Srinivasamurthy v. Commissioner of Income-tax, then he remains the owner during the subsistence of the lease. Full ownership for a period does not militate against the concept of ownership in jurisprudence. It is not unknown that a lessee of a land may construct a building at his own expense but at the same time the ownership in it, according to the indenture of lease, may vest in the lesso ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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