Is car theft claim settlement taxable?

Atush Jain (Asst. Professor) (162 Points)

29 August 2016  
Respected experts, My car was stolen in May 2015, the insurance claim was settled after 8 months of mental torture and harrasment. My car was 14 months old when it was stolen, I had renewed the policy after 12 months and the idv was 80% of initial ex showroom price. I had done some partial payment of my car loan hence idv was more than my loan outstanding amount with the bank. The insurance company had a weird requirement of receving loan closure documents before the claim could be settled which bank was not comfortable with. I had no choice but to close the loan by arranging for the loan outstanding amount and then finally received the whole of claim settlement amount in my account. Could you please help me understand if this claim settlement amount of idv would be taxable as per IT laws. Logically the idv of a car can never be more than the depreciation value of the car. but wanted some expert suggestions on this matter. Regards:- Sachin Matta