Section 35D — the law in short
What the courts have decided on section 35D, in one screen. Read this first; open an entry when you need the facts, the reasoning and the source.
-
Berger Paints India Ltd v CIT
Supreme CourtHelps department
My s.35D claim is capped at 5% of capital employed. Does the share premium I collected count as capital employed?
No. Capital employed in the business of the company for s.35D(3)(b) is the aggregate of three things only — issued share capital, debentures and long-term borrowings. Share premium is none of them, and the Supreme Court held that if Parliament had meant to include it, it would have said so in the Explanation. The ceiling is therefore computed on the face value subscribed, not on what the subscribers actually paid.
-
Adani Power Ltd v Dy CIT
ITATCuts both waysValidity unconfirmed
The AO has thrown out most of my IPO expenses because they are not named in s.35D(2). Is that list closed?
It depends, and the burden is yours. The Tribunal accepted that the word 'being' in s.35D(2) makes the list inclusive, so there is room to argue for an item not spelled out. But it held the scope is not unrestricted and the assessee must prove each item is directly or indirectly connected with the issue of shares - vehicle hire, travel consultant fees, foreign travel and filing fees had gone through two authorities without that evidence. The order does not give one answer: for assessment year 2010-11 the claim went back to the Assessing Officer for verification, while for 2011-12 the identical ground was dismissed. The one part of the claim that survived on the merits was the amount the Commissioner (Appeals) had specifically tied to the share issue, which the Department failed to have restored.
Listed strongest first: Supreme Court, then High Court, then Tribunal, then CBDT. Nothing here has yet been read in full by a chartered accountant — open an entry to see where it came from.