2014 (1) TMI 1174 - AT - Income Tax

Expenses on periodical technical training programme - Capital or revenue in nature - Held that - As per the Technical License Agreement, the assessee company shall bear the cost of round trips, meals, lodging and other expenses of the personnel of the Korean Company sent for training - The expenditure has been incurred towards the reimbursement of expenses incurred towards, Korean Company s engineers visiting the assessee-company for providing technical support and training - The expenditure is clearly revenue in nature - Decided against Revenue.

Summary

Issues:
1. Treatment of technical fee as capital expenditure.
2. Interpretation of Technical License Agreement.
3. Applicability of case laws on expenditure classification.

Analysis:
1. The appeal addressed the treatment of a technical fee as capital expenditure by the Revenue. The assessee, engaged in manufacturing automobile components, filed its return for AY 2004-05, declaring income as Rs.1,13,72,682. The Assessing Officer re-assessed the expenditure incurred for technical training as capital, allowing depreciation at 25%. The CIT(Appeals) overturned this decision, stating the expenditure was revenue in nature. The Revenue appealed to the Tribunal.

2. The interpretation of the Technical License Agreement was crucial in determining the nature of the expenditure. The agreement outlined technical assistance and services to be provided by a Korean company to the assessee. Article-4 detailed the assistance, including drawings, specifications, and technical data. Article-5 specified that the assessee would bear expenses for personnel visiting for training. This agreement was pivotal in establishing the revenue nature of the expenditure.

3. The applicability of case laws on expenditure classification was debated. The Revenue argued that the technical fee should be treated as capital based on the agreement terms. However, the assessee contended that the reimbursement of expenses for technical support was revenue in nature. The Tribunal examined the case laws cited by both parties and found them inapplicable to the current scenario. Ultimately, the Tribunal upheld the CIT(Appeals) decision, dismissing the Revenue's appeal.

In conclusion, the Tribunal's judgment favored the assessee, emphasizing the revenue nature of the technical fee expenditure based on the terms of the Technical License Agreement and the specific circumstances of the case.