Income derived from property is taxable under Section 9 of the Income Tax Act, even if it is received by a company formed with the object of developing and setting up markets.

JUDGMENT :

Shah, J.

1. This is an appeal with special leave against the Judgment of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Calcutta Bench, Calcutta. The appellant is a private company registered under the Indian Companies Act incorporated with the objects amongst others, (1) to buy and develop landed properties, and (2) to promote and develop markets. In 1946, the appellant purchased ten bighas of land in the town of Calcutta and set up a market therein. The appellant constructed shops, and stalls on platforms on that land. For Assessment Year 1953-54, the appellant received Rs 53,145 as income from the tenants of shops and Rs 29,721 from the tenants or occupants of stalls. The Income Tax Officer assessed the income derived from shops and stalls under Section 9 of the Income Tax Act. The order of assessment was confirmed in appeal by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and by the Tribunal. The appellant has obtained special leave to appeal against the order of the Tribunal.

2. The appellant contends that because it is a company formed with the object of promoting and developing markets, its income derived from the shops and stalls is liable to be taxed under Section 10 of the Income Tax Act as "profits or gains of business" and that the income is not liable to be taxed as "income from property" under Section 9 of the Act. The appellant is undoubtedly under the provisions of the Calcutta Municipal Act, 1951, required to obtain a licence from the Corporation of Calcutta and to maintain sanitary and other services in conformity with the provisions of that Act and for that purpose has to maintain a staff and to incur expenditure. But on that account, the income derived from letting out property belonging to the appellant does not become "profits or gains" from business within the meaning of Sections 6 and 10 of the Income Tax Act. By Section 6 of the Income Tax Act, the following six different heads of income are made chargeable, (1) salaries, (2) interest on securities, (3) income from property, (4) profits and gains of business, profession or vocation, (5) income from other sources and (6) capital gains. This classification under distinct heads of income, profit and gain is made having regard to the sources from which income is derived. Income Tax is undoubtedly levied on the total taxable income of the tax payer and the tax levied is a single tax on the aggregate taxable receipts from all the sources: it is not a collection of taxes separately levied on distinct heads of income. But the distinct heads specified in Section 6 indicating the sources are mutually exclusive and income derived from different sources falling under specific heads has to be computed for the purpose of taxation in the manner provided by the appropriate section. If the income from a source falls within a specific head set out in Section 6, the fact that it may indirectly be covered by another head will not make the income taxable under the latter head.

3. The income derived by the company from shops and stalls is income received from property and falls under the specific head described in Section 9. The character of that income is not altered because it is received by a company formed with the object of developing and setting up markets. In the United Commercial Bank Ltd., Calcutta v. Commissioner Income Tax, (1958) SCR 79 this Court explained after an exhaustive review of the authorities that under the scheme of the Income Tax Act, 1922, the heads of income, profits and gains enumerated in the different clauses of Section 6 are mutually exclusive, each specific head covering items of income arising from a particular source.

4. In Fry v. Salisbury House Estate Ltd., LR (1930) AC 432 a company formed to acquire, manage and deal with a block of buildings having let out the rooms as unfurnished offices to tenants was held chargeable to tax under Schedule A to the Income Tax Act, 1918 and not Schedule D. The company provided a staff to operate the lifts and to act a