BE Pharmaceuticals Private Limited Vs ACIT (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court admitted appeals filed by the assessee under Section 260A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, challenging an order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) dated 28 October 2025 concerning depreciation claims arising from the acquisition of business assets through a slump sale transaction. The assessee had purchased the assets of another company, including a manufacturing plant in Himachal Pradesh, for a total consideration of ₹281.28 crore. According to the assessee, ₹137.19 crore represented the value of tangible assets, while ₹144.09 crore was attributable to goodwill.
The principal dispute concerned the assessee’s entitlement to depreciation on goodwill and the quantum of such depreciation. While the Tribunal accepted, in principle, the assessee’s claim for depreciation on goodwill, it remanded the matter to the Assessing Officer (AO) with directions to obtain a valuation of land and buildings from the Departmental Valuation Officer (DVO). The Tribunal held that Section 50C could not apply because the assessee was the purchaser and not the seller. However, it observed that Section 56(2)(vii)(b) could be relevant for valuation purposes and directed a fresh exercise to determine the value of tangible assets, with the balance consideration being allocated towards goodwill eligible for depreciation.
