2010 (1) TMI 281 - SC - Income Tax

MAT - Tax based on book profits - The assessee, a public sector company supplying electricity, was required to sell electricity to State Electricity Board, Discoms etc, at tariff rate, which consisted of depreciation, advance against depreciation (AAD), interes on loans, interest on working capital, operation and maintenance expenses, and return on equity. - Held that- advance against depreciation (AAD) was not a reserve nor was an appropriation of profit. The assessee could not use AAD for any purpose (which was possible in the case of a reserve) except to adjust it against future depreciation so as to reduce the tariff in the future years. The AAD was an income received in advance. It was a timing difference. Therefore, clause (b) of Explanation 1 to section 115JB (2) of the act was not applicable to AAD.

Summary

Issues:
1. Accounting treatment of Advance Against Depreciation (AAD) in the assessment year 2001-02.

Analysis:
The Supreme Court, in a civil appeal, addressed the issue of the accounting treatment of Advance Against Depreciation (AAD) for the assessment year 2001-02. The assessee, a public sector enterprise, was required to sell electricity at tariff rates determined by the CERC, which included components like depreciation, AAD, interest, and expenses. The Government of India introduced a mechanism in 1997 to collect AAD through tariff charges to generate additional cash flow. The key issue before the court was how to account for this advance.

The Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) held that the AAD component should not be deducted from sales in the profit and loss account as it constituted a reserve, which needed to be added back for computing book profit under section 115JB of the Income-tax Act, 1961. However, the Supreme Court disagreed with this interpretation. The court analyzed Explanation 1 to section 115JB, which requires two conditions to be met for adding amounts to reserves, namely a debit to the profit and loss account and the amount being carried to a reserve. The court found that since AAD was not debited to the profit and loss account and was not a reserve but an adjustment against future depreciation, clause (b) of Explanation 1 was not applicable.

The court clarified that AAD was not a reserve but an income received in advance, representing a timing difference that would be adjusted in the future to reduce tariffs. AAD was considered an obligation to adjust against future depreciation and not meant for any other purpose. The court emphasized that AAD was not a reserve as it did not enter the stream of income and was part of a mechanism notified by the government. Therefore, the court held that AAD was a timing difference, not a reserve, and set aside the ruling of the AAR, allowing the civil appeal filed by the assessee.