Section 28(iv) of the Income Tax Act
Income-tax Act, 2025: s.26
Section 28(iv) falls under section 28 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which corresponds to section 26 (Income under head “Profits and gains of business or profession") of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Read section 26 of the 2025 Act
Correspondence checked against the ICAI tabular mapping of the two Acts and the BharatTax.co section commentary.
The decision most relied on for Section 28(iv) is Tuticorin Alkali Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd. v. CIT (227 ITR 172), cited in 621 of the 479 judgments on BharatTax that turn on this section.
Leading authorities on Section 28(iv)
Interest income earned on deposits, particularly before the commencement of business operations or as a requirement for business licensing, is taxable as "income from other sources" under Section 56, and cannot be treated as business income or set off against interest on borrowed funds.
Unclaimed deposits received in the course of trading transactions and sundry credit balances written back are taxable as business income under Section 41(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, as they constitute a cessation of trading liability.
The waiver of a loan taken for acquiring capital assets is considered a capital receipt and is not taxable as income under Section 28(iv) of the Income Tax Act. The ruling distinguishes between the waiver of trading liabilities and capital liabilities for tax purposes.
Section 41(1) of the Income-tax Act cannot be invoked if the assessee has not been granted a deduction for the relevant liability in earlier years.
The write-back or waiver of a loan obtained for business purposes constitutes taxable business income under Section 28. This applies even if no prior deduction was claimed, thereby not attracting Section 41(1).
Receipts arising from the sale of Carbon Emission Reduction (CERs) or carbon credits are capital receipts, not revenue receipts, for assessment years preceding the introduction of Section 115BBG.
Benefits received by a company from its business operations, such as waived loans not used for capital assets, are taxable under section 28(iv) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
Compensation received for the loss of a capital asset or the loss of a source of income is classified as a capital receipt and is not liable to income tax.
Where an assessee discharges a future liability at its present value, it does not result in a "benefit" accruing to the assessee, and therefore, Section 41(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, is not applicable.
Debt forgiveness constituting a monetary benefit does not attract Section 28(iv) of the Income Tax Act. Such a benefit is not income arising from business or profession.
