ACIT vs. Bank of Maharashtra (ITAT Pune)

A premise which can be drawn is that for the purposes of valuation of the closing stock it is permissible for the assessee to value it at the cost or market value, whichever is lower. In-fact, the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Chainrup Sampatram vs. CIT, (1953) 24 ITR 481 (SC) held that the assessee is entitled to value the closing stock either at cost price or market value, whichever is lower. In the present case, Revenue does not dispute that the method of the valuation adopted by the assessee, namely, valuing the stock either at cost price or market value whichever is lower, is a generally accepted method of valuation. No doubt, there are no statutory rules for the valuation of closing stock but the ordinarily accepted method of commercial accounting support the valuation of closing stock based on the lower of the cost or market value. Therefore, the departure from the erstwhile method of valuation of closing stock by the assessee is quite appropriate, and in fact is line with a method approved by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Chainrup Sampatram (supra). In-fact, the only basis for the Revenue to challenge the bona-fides of the change is that the change has been effected only for the purpose of assessment of taxable income and is not incorporated in the account books. The aforesaid plea of the Revenue, in our view, is quite misplaced because it is well understood that assessee is a banking company and is statutorily mandated to maintain its books of account in terms of the RBI guidelines. On the other hand, the assessment of taxable income has to be based on the principle of law and cannot be guided merely by the treatment meted out to a particular transaction in the account books. In-fact, this aspect of the controversy has also been answered by the Hon’ble Karnataka High Court in the case of Corporation Bank Ltd. (supra) by relying on the judgement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Kedarnath Jute Mfg. Co. Ltd. vs. CIT, (1971) 82 ITR 363 (SC).