Section 32(1) — Depreciation is allowable on pre-operative expenses which are revenue in nature, allocated to fixed assets since the expenses were incurred on setting up fixed assets and in pre-operative period the assessee was only engaged in putting up fixed assets on rented land.

In
pre-operative period, the assessee had incurred expenditure of
Rs.16,93,153, which was debited under 8 heads, all of which were revenue
in nature. The assessee was not able to link any expenditure with a
particular item of fixed asset. However, since during the pre-operative
period the assessee was engaged only in putting up fixed assets on
rented land, it had capitalised this sum of Rs.16,93,153 to various
items of fixed assets in the ratio of cost of the asset to total cost.
The Assessing Officer (AO) disallowed Rs.2,70,744 being the amount of
depreciation on this sum of Rs.16,93,153 on the ground that the
expenditure incurred is revenue in nature and there is no link between
item of asset and the expenditure incurred. Aggrieved the assessee
preferred an appeal to the Tribunal.

Held:

In
view of the ratio of the decision of the Delhi High Court in CIT v. Food
Specialities Ltd., 136 ITR 203 (Del.) and also the ratio of the
decision of the Madras High Court in CIT v. Lucas-TVS Ltd., 110 ITR 346
(Mad.), the expenditure was required to be capitalised. Also the
proportionate method of allocating the expenditure to various items of
fixed assets is fair and reasonable. Accordingly, the assessee is
entitled to claim depreciation on the sum of Rs.16,93,153 being
pre-operative expenses capitalised to various items of fixed assets. The
Tribunal decided the appeal in favour of the assessee.