CIT Vs Reliance Industries Ltd (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court of India adjudicated the appeals filed by the Revenue against the judgment of the Bombay High Court dated 22 & 23 August 2017 for the assessment years 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, and 2006-07. The case dealt with multiple significant questions of law, including the allowability of interest deductions, the optionality of claiming depreciation, the nature of pre-operative expenses, deductions under Section 80M, and issues related to transfer pricing adjustments.
Questions Raised by the Revenue
The Revenue’s appeals raised five primary questions:
Interest Deduction: Whether the High Court was correct in holding that interest on funds provided to subsidiaries is allowable as a deduction under Section 36(1)(iii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, even if the interest would not have been payable to banks if the funds were not provided to the subsidiaries.
Depreciation Claim: Whether the High Court was correct in upholding the Tribunal’s view that prior to the insertion of Explanation-5 to Section 32 of the Act, the claim of depreciation was optional and could not be imposed on the assessee if it had not claimed it.
Pre-operative Expenses: Whether pre-operative expenses incurred in connection with the creation of plant and machinery in units that had not commenced production are revenue in nature.
