Section 44 read with the First Schedule to the Income-tax Act provides the scheme of computation of income of insurance companies. According to Rule 5 of the said Schedule, the income of non-life insurance business is taken as ‘profit before tax and appropriations’ as per the profit and loss account of the company, prepared in accordance with the regulations made by the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA), subject to certain adjustments.
The Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009 amended the First Schedule to provide that in case of non-life insurance business, appreciation of or gains on realisation of investments taken credit for in the accounts shall be treated as income and be included in the computation of the total income.
The appreciation in the value of investments, being in the nature of unrealized gain is not taken into account for determining profit or loss of non-life insurance business as per the IRDA regulations. It is, therefore, proposed that the unrealized gains due to appreciation in the value of investments will not be included in the total income. Similarly, deduction will not be allowed for provision for losses due to diminution in the value of investments as this is not a realized loss.
It has also been provided that any gain or loss on realisation of investments shall be added or deducted for the purpose of computation of the total income, if the same is not already credited or debited in the profit and loss account.
This amendment is proposed to take effect from 1st April, 2011 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the assessment year 2011-12 and subsequent years.
