Section 79(2) — the law in short
What the courts have decided on section 79(2), in one screen. Read this first; open an entry when you need the facts, the reasoning and the source.
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Statutory position — section 79: which version of the change-in-shareholding bar applies to your year
CBDT Circulars & InstructionsCuts both ways
My closely held company changed hands and the Assessing Officer has knocked out the brought-forward loss under section 79. The section has been rewritten more than once — which text governs my assessment year?
Four different texts of s.79 have governed the last decade, and the one that applies is the one in force for the assessment year in which the set-off is claimed. The Finance Act 2017 (Act 7 of 2017) substituted s.79 with effect from 1 April 2018 in a clause (a) and clause (b) form; the Finance (No. 2) Act 2019 (Act 23 of 2019) substituted it again with effect from 1 April 2020 into the present sub-section (1), (2) and (3) form; the Finance Act 2021 and the Finance Act 2022 added carve-outs with effect from 1 April 2022; and the Finance Act 2023 (Act 8 of 2023) substituted 'ten' for 'seven' in the start-up proviso with effect from 1 April 2023.
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.
