Case: Oberoi Hotel P.Ltd Vs. The Commissioner Of Income Tax

of an office or agency is regarded as capital receipt, but this rule is subject to an exception that payment received even for termination of agency agreement would be revenue and not capital in the case where the agency was one of many which the assessee held and its termination did not impair the profit making structure of the assessee, but was within the framework of the business, it being a necessary incident of the business that existing agencies may be terminated and fresh agencies may be taken. Thereafter the Court held that it was difficult to lay down a precise principle of universal application but various workable rules have been evolved for guidance. 6. Applying the aforesaid test laid down by this Court in the present case in our view the Tribunal was right in arriving at a conclusion that it was a capital receipt. Reason is that as provided in Article XVIII of the First Agreement assessee was having an option or right or lien, if owner desired to transfer the hotel or lease or part of the hotel to any other person, the same was required to be offered first to the assessee (operator) or its nominee. This right to exercise its option was given up by a Supplementary Agreement which was executed in September, 1975 between the Receiver and assessee. It was agreed that Receiver would be at liberty to sell or otherwise dispose of the said property at such price and on such terms as he may deem fit and was not under any obligation requiring the purchaser thereof to enter into any agreement with the operator (assessee) for the purpose of operating and managing the hotel or otherwise and in its return, agreed consideration was as stated above in clause X. On the basis of the said agreement the assessee has received the amount in question. The amount was received because the assessee had given up its right to purchase and or to operate the property. Further it is loss of source of income to the assessee and that right is determined for consideration. Obviously therefore, it is a capital receipt and not a revenue receipt.7. Learned counsel for the Revenue relied upon the decision in the case of Commissioner of Income Tax v. Rai Bahadur Jairam Valji and others, 35 ITR 148 and submitted that assessee had the business of running the hotels in various countries and the amount which is received by him is for the termination of first contract which was executed in 1970 and, therefore, it should be considered his revenue receipt. In that case the Court was dealing with a trading contract and held that compensation paid in respect of the rights arising under the trading contract would be a revenue receipt and must be referred to the profits which would be made in carrying out of that contract. The Court has also observed : "Whether a payment of compensation or termination of an agency is a capital or revenue receipt, it would have to be considered whether the agency was in the nature of capital asset in the hands of the assessee, or whether it was only part of his stock-in-trade." 8. The aforesaid judgment was considered in the case of Kettlewell Bullen and Co. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Income Tax, Calcutta, 1964(53) ITR 261 wherein the Court has held as under : "Whether a particular receipt is capital or income from business, has frequently engaged the attention of the courts. It may be broadly stated that what is received for loss of capital is a capital receipt : what is received as profit in a trading transaction is taxable income. But the difficulty arises in ascertaining whether what is received in a given case is compensation for loss of a source of income, or profit in a trading transaction." After considering various decisions it was further held as under : "These cases illustrate the principle that compensation for injury to trading operations, arising from breach of contract or in consequence of exercise of sovereign rights, is revenue. These cases must, however, be distinguished from another class of cases where compensation is paid as a solatium for loss of office. Such compensation may be regarded as capital or revenue: it would be regarded as capital, if it is for loss of an asset of enduring value to the assessee, but not where payment is received in settlement of loss in a trading transaction." 9. After analysing number of cases, the Court observed that following satisfactory measure of consistency in the principle is disclosed :"Where on a consideration of the circumstances, payment is made to compensate a person for cancellation of a contract which does not affect the trading structure of his business, nor deprive him of what in substance is his source of income, termination of the contract being a normal incident of the business, and such cancellation leave him from to carry on his trade (freed from the contract terminated) the receipt is revenue : Where by the cancellation of an agency the trading structure of the assessee is impaired, or such cancellation results in loss of what may be regarded as the source of the assessees income, the payment made to compensate for cancellation of the agency agreement is normally a capital receipt."10. The aforesaid principal is relied upon in the case of Karam Chand Thapar and Bros.s case (supra). Considering the aforesaid principals laid down as per Article XVIII of the Principal Agreement, the amount received by the assessee is for the consideration for giving up his right to purchase and or to operate the property or for getting it on lease before it is transferred or let out to other persons. It is not for settlement of rights under trading contract, but the injury is inflicted on the capital asset of the assessee and giving up the contractual right on the basis of Principal Agreement has resulted in loss of source of assessees income.

Court's decision (1 = petition accepted / positive for appellant, 0 = rejected / negative): 1

Reasoning from the judgment:
1[ds]6. Applying the aforesaid test laid down by this Court in the present case in our view the Tribunal was right in arriving at a conclusion that it was a capital receipt. Reason is that as provided in Article XVIII of the First Agreement assessee was having an option or right or lien, if owner desired to transfer the hotel or lease or part of the hotel to any other person, the same was required to be offered first to the assessee (operator) or its nominee. This right to exercise its option was given up by a Supplementary Agreement which was executed in September, 1975 between the Receiver and assessee. It was agreed that Receiver would be at liberty to sell or otherwise dispose of the said property at such price and on such terms as he may deem fit and was not under any obligation requiring the purchaser thereof to enter into any agreement with the operator (assessee) for the purpose of operating and managing the hotel or otherwise and in its return, agreed consideration was as stated above in clause X. On the basis of the said agreement the assessee has received the amount in question. The amount was received because the assessee had given up its right to purchase and or to operate the property. Further it is loss of source of income to the assessee and that right is determined for consideration. Obviously therefore, it is a capital receipt and not a revenue receipt.After analysing number of cases, the Court observed that following satisfactory measure of consistency in the principle is disclosed :"Where on a consideration of the circumstances, payment is made to compensate a person for cancellation of a contract which does not affect the trading structure of his business, nor deprive him of what in substance is his source of income, termination of the contract being a normal incident of the business, and such cancellation leave him from to carry on his trade (freed from the contract terminated) the receipt is revenue : Where by the cancellation of an agency the trading structure of the assessee is impaired, or such cancellation results in loss of what may be regarded as the source of the assessees income, the payment made to compensate for cancellation of the agency agreement is normally a capital receipt."10. The aforesaid principal is relied upon in the case of Karam Chand Thapar and Bros.s case (supra). Considering the aforesaid principals laid down as per Article XVIII of the Principal Agreement, the amount received by the assessee is for the consideration for giving up his right to purchase and or to operate the property or for getting it on lease before it is transferred or let out to other persons. It is not for settlement of rights under trading contract, but the injury is inflicted on the capital asset of the assessee and giving up the contractual right on the basis of Principal Agreement has resulted in loss of source of assessees income.Applying the aforesaid test laid down by this Court in the present case in our view the Tribunal was right in arriving at a conclusion that it was a capital receipt. Reason is that as provided in Article XVIII of the First Agreement assessee was having an option or right or lien, if owner desired to transfer the hotel or lease or part of the hotel to any other person, the same was required to be offered first to the assessee (operator) or its nominee. This right to exercise its option was given up by a Supplementary Agreement which was executed in September, 1975 between the Receiver and assessee. It was agreed that Receiver would be at liberty to sell or otherwise dispose of the said property at such price and on such terms as he may deem fit and was not under any obligation requiring the purchaser thereof to enter into any agreement with the operator (assessee) for the purpose of operating and managing the hotel or otherwise and in its return, agreed consideration was as stated above in clause X. On the basis of the said agreement the assessee has received the amount in question. The amount was received because the assessee had given up its right to purchase and or to operate the property. Further it is loss of source of income to the assessee and that right is determined for consideration. Obviously therefore, it is a capital receipt and not a revenue receipt.