lawyers office

1.  Lawyer's work is not classified as "Business /Commercial" work, BUT is classified as "Profession" as per several HC /SC judgments.

2. As per state's Regional Town Planning Act and  Development Control Rules (DCR), upto 50% of Flat can be used by owner for his Profession office (by Lawyers, Doctors, Architect, Engineer .... ) without paying any commercial rates of Water, Electricity, Property Taxes....

3. However, IF the Flat is "exclusivly" used for "Professional Activities", THEN the electricity bills will be billed at Non-Residential rates (L2 category). However this does not make such premises as Commercial premises and neither the Municipal /Society /Association has any jurisdiction to restrict such professional activities.

Keep Smiling .... Hemant Agarwal
VISIT: www.chshelpforum.com

Yes, it is not commercial use.

Lawyer can use a portion of the flat as office for consulting his clients.

This will not come under commercial, hence the electricity charges need not be paid at commercial rates, it can be paid at the domestic rates itself. 

It is generally believed that only a part of the flat can be used for professional purposes and that no part of the flat can be used for business office purposes. However the decided case laws on the subject speak otherwise.

The crux of the judgments on user of residential flats is that even if the entire flat is used by a professional person for the practice of his profession, there is no change of user to a commercial one and there cannot be a prohibition for the same. If the flat is partly used for business office, then also if the dominant user is residential, there is no violation of the provisions relating to the change of user.

The Constitution of India, while ensuring under Article 19(1)(g) to all citizens the right to practise any trade, business or profession, has maintained a clear distinction between carrying on a trade or business as against practising a profession. The reason underlying the distinction is that unlike in a trade or business, a profession is practised without any underlying profit motive. What a practising professional renders to his clients is his services essentially based on his qualification, personal skill and intellectual capacity. Earning of fees is considered only an incidental part.

Case law on firm of lawyers :

In V. Sasidharan v. Peter and Karunakar, (1984) 65 FJR 374 (SC), the question for decision before the Supreme Court was whether the office of a lawyer or of a firm of lawyers is or is not a commercial establishment within the meaning of the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act. The SC held that it does not require any strong argument to justify the conclusion that the office of a lawyer or a firm of lawyers is not a ‘shop’.

The Supreme Court has also, in several judgements, reiterated this fundamental distinction. In National Union of Commercial Employees v. Industrial Tribunal, (1962) 22 FJR 25, the Court held that the services rendered by a firm of solicitors were only in the individual capacity of the partners and very dependent on their professional equipment, knowledge and efficiency.

Agree with Hemant Agarwal.