Section 71A — Transitional provisions for set off of loss under the head "Income from house property"

Function in the statutory architecture

Section 71A is a transitional rule. Where, for the assessment year commencing on 1 April 1993 or 1 April 1994, the net result under the head "Income from house property" was a loss, so much of that loss as related to interest on borrowed capital referred to in s. 24(1)(vi), and had not been set off, was carried forward. It was set off in the assessment year commencing on 1 April 1995 and the balance, if any, in the assessment year commencing on 1 April 1996, against income under any head.

Section 71(4) fixes the order: for those two later years the current-year house property loss is first set off under s. 71(1) and (2), and the s. 71A loss is set off thereafter.

Operative consequences

• Only the interest component of the house property loss of assessment years 1993-94 and 1994-95 qualified.
• The carried-forward loss could be set off against income under any head, not merely house property income.
• No set-off under s. 71A was possible after assessment year 1996-97, so the section has no operation now.

Status

Expired. The section remains in the text but its last year of operation was assessment year 1996-97; it has no application for assessment year 2026-27. It carries no bracketed note of omission. The Finance Act, 2026 does not amend s. 71A.

The Income-tax Act, 1961 governs assessment year 2026-27 and earlier years; the Income-tax Act, 2025 governs tax year 2026-27 onwards. For this subject, there is no corresponding provision; the general house property loss rule is s. 110.