29 March 2009
allowed in case of installment purchase and allowed in case of HP is some condition specified : the case of assets under the hire purchase system the allowance for depreciation would under Circular No. 9 of 1943 R. Dis. No. 27(4) I.T. 43 dated 23-3- 1943, be granted as follows : 1. In every case of payment purporting to be for hire purchase, production of the agreement under which the payment is made would be insisted upon by the department. 2. Where the effect of an agreement is that the ownership of the asset is at once transferred on the lessee the transaction should be regarded as one of purchase by instalments and consequently no deduction in respect of the hire amount should be made. This principle will be applicable in a case where the lessor obtains a right to sue for arrears of instalments but has no right to recover the asset back from the lessee. Depreciation in such cases should be allowed to the lessee on the hire purchase price determined in accordance with the terms of hire purchase agreement. 3. Where the terms of an agreement provide that the asset shall eventually become the property of the hirer or confer on the hirer an option to purchase an asset, the transaction should be regarded as one of hire purchase. In such case, periodical payments made by the hirer should for all tax purposes be regarded as made up of (i) the consideration for hirer which will be allowed as a deduction in assessment, Profits and Gains of Business or Profession 6.13 and (ii) payment on account of the purchase price, to be treated as capital outlay and depreciation being allowed to the lessee on the initial value namely, the amount for which the hired assets would have been sold for cash at the date of the agreement. The allowance to be made in respect of the hire should be the amount of the difference between the aggregate amount of the periodical payments under the agreement and the initial value as stated above. The amount of this allowance should be spread over the duration of the agreement evenly. If, however, agreement is terminated either by outright purchase of the asset or by its return to the seller, the deduction should cease as from the date of termination of agreement. For the purpose of allowing depreciation an assessee claiming deduction in respect of the assets acquired on hire purchase would be required to furnish a certificate from the seller or any other suitable documentary evidence in respect of the initial value or the cash price of the asset. In cases where no such certificate or other evidence is furnished the initial value of the assets should be arrived at by computing the present value of the amount payable under the agreement at an appropriate per centum. For the purpose of allowing depreciation the question whether in a particular case the assessee is the owner of the hired asset or not is to be decided on a consideration of all the facts and circumstances of each case and the terms of the hire purchase agreement. Where the hired asset is originally purchased by the assessee and is registered in his name, the mere fact that the payment of the price is spread over the specified period and is made in instalments to suit the needs of the purchaser does not disentitle the assessee from claiming depreciation in respect of the asset, since the assessee would be the real owner although the payment of purchase price is made subsequent to the date of acquisition of the asset itself