Ingersoll-Rand (India) Ltd v .CIT (2020) 427 ITR 158/192 DTR 369 (Karn)(HC)

S.37(1): Business expenditure — Capital or revenue -Club membership -Revenue expenditure- Disallowance of part of expenditure – Held to be not justified .

Court held that the Tribunal failed to take into account the fact that its order passed in CIT v. Infosys Technologies Ltd. by which it had held that the club membership expenditure was in the nature of revenue expenditure was upheld by the court whose order was binding on the Tribunal. The Tribunal also failed to appreciate that the order of the Commissioner (Appeals), by which he had held the expenditure to be revenue expenditure in previous years was not challenged by the Revenue. Therefore, the ‘expenditure on obtaining club membership was deductible . Court also held that  in the absence of a finding that part of the expenditure had been laid out for non-business purposes, the full amount of expenditure was deductible.( AY.2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03)