S. 145 : Method of accounting-Trading in jewellery-Discrimination-Parliament power to prescribe accounting standards-Provision making it mandatory for assessees to adopt first-in-first-out or weighted average cost method for valuing stock and inventory-Provision applicable to all assessees-Not an unreasonable classification or arbitrary-Valid in law-Valuation of stock-Closing and opening stock to be valued by applying same method of valuation-Valuation of stock-Enhancement by revaluation of stock not real income in hands of assessee-Provision making it mandatory for assessees to adopt first-in-first-out or weighted average cost method for valuing stock and inventory with retrospective effect Amendment meant to give relief to assessees who regularly adopted first-in-first-out to value stock in assessment year 2017-2018 and to save returns from being declared incorrect or invalid-Not applicable to assessees who did not apply first-in-first-out to value opening and closing stock but followed last-in-first-out consistently and had filed returns before amendment Income-tax Act, 1961-Mercantile system of accounting and consistently valuing stock and inventory using last-in-first-out method-Department to either accept valuation of both opening and closing stock based on last-in-first-out method or permit assessee to value stock applying first-in-first-out or weighted average cost method. [S. 145A Art, 14, Art. 226, 145A Income Computation and Disclosure Standards (II), cl. 16.]
P.A. Jose v. UOI (2025) 481 ITR 148 (Karn)(HC)