In Brief
A company claimed a deduction under Section 43B of the Income Tax Act for interest on loans by issuing debentures to financial institutions in lieu of outstanding interest, under an agreed rehabilitation plan. The Revenue disallowed the deduction, relying on Explanation 3C (inserted retrospectively in 2006), which provides that interest converted into a loan is not deemed actually paid. The Supreme Court held that where debentures are accepted by lenders in actual discharge of the liability (not as conversion of unpaid interest into a fresh loan), the deduction is allowable. Explanation 3C is clarificatory—plugging the loophole of misuse—and does not apply to bona fide transactions of actual payment by alternative modes. The Court distinguished the case from prior precedent and restored the appellate tribunal's decision.
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