by Depreciation under the Income Tax Act is a deduction allowed for the reduction in the real value of a tangible or intangible asset used by a taxpayer. The concept of depreciation is used for the purpose of writing off the cost of an asset over its useful life.
Depreciation is a mandatory deduction in the profit and loss statements of an entity and the Act allows deduction either in Straight-Line method or Written Down Value (WDV) method. The calculation for depreciation under the WDV method is widely used except for undertaking engaged in generation or generation and distribution of power. The Act also allows a deduction for additional depreciation in the year of purchase in certain circumstances. To read about additional depreciation visit Additional Depreciation Under the Income Tax Act.
Block of Assets: Concept
Depreciation is calculated on the WDV of a Block of assets. Block of assets is a group of assets falling within a class of assets comprising of:
- Tangible assets, being building, machinery, plant, or furniture,
- Intangible assets, being know how, patents, copyrights, trademarks, licenses, franchises or any other business or commercial rights of similar nature
The block of assets is classified further depending on the similar use, life of the asset and nature of the asset.
Conditions for Claiming Depreciation
You can avail deduction for depreciation, only if it satisfies the following conditions.
- The assets must be owned, wholly or partly, by the assessee.
- The assets must be in use for the business or profession of the taxpayer. If the assets are not used exclusively for the business, but for other purposes as well, depreciation allowable would be proportionate to the use of business purpose. The Income Tax Officer also has the right to determine the proportionate part of the depreciation under Section 38 of the Act.
- Co-owners can claim depreciation to the extent of the value of the assets owned by each co-owner.
- You cannot claim depreciation on the cost of land.
- Depreciation is mandatory from A.Y. 2002-03 and shall be allowed or deemed to have been allowed as a deduction irrespective of a claim made by a taxpayer in the profit & loss account.
Written Down Value
As per Section 32(1) of the IT Act depreciation should be computed at the prescribed percentage on the WDV of the asset, which in turn is calculated with reference to the actual cost of the assets. In the context of computing depreciation, it is important to understand the meaning of the term ‘WDV’ & ‘Actual Cost’.
WDV under the Income Tax Act means:
- Where the asset is acquired in the previous year, the actual cost of the asset shall be treated as WDV.
- Where the asset is acquired in an earlier year, the WDV shall be equal to the actual cost incurred less depreciation actually allowed under the Act.
Depreciation Allowed
- The allowance for depreciation is calculated under the WDV method except for undertaking engaged in generation or generation and distribution of power. The depreciation rates are given in Appendix 1. In the case of undertakings engaged in generation or generation and distribution of power, such undertaking has an option to claim depreciation on WDV method at the rates provided in New Appendix I – if such option is exercised before the due date of filing the return.
In the case of amalgamation or demerger, the aggregate depreciation allowance shall be apportioned between the amalgamating and the amalgamated company, or the demerged and the resulting company. The aggregate depreciation would be computed as if the amalgamation or demerger had not taken place. It shall be apportioned based on the number of days the assets were used by such companies.
In case of a finance lease transaction, the lessee has to capitalise the assets in its books under AS-19 – the Accounting standard on leases. In such cases, the lessee can exercise the rights of the owner in his own right and hence the allowance for depreciation is available to the lessee.
| Sl.No | Asset
Class |
Asset Type | Rate of Depreciation |
| 1 | Building | Residential buildings not including boarding houses and hotels | 5% |
| 2 | Building | Boarding houses and hotels | 10% |
| 3 | Building | Purely temporary constructions like wooden structures | 100% |
| 4 | Furniture | Any fittings / furniture including electrical fittings | 10% |
| 5 | Plant and machinery | Motor cars excluding those used in a business of running them on hire | 15% |
| 6 | Plant and machinery | Lorries/taxis/motor buses used in a business of running them on hire | 30% |
| 7 | Plant and machinery | Computers and computer software | 60% |
| 8 | Plant and machinery | Books owned by assessee carrying on a profession being annual publications | 100% |
| 9 | Plant and machinery | Books owned by assessee carrying on profession not being annual publications | 60% |
| 10 | Plant and machinery | Books owned by assessee carrying on business in running lending libraries | 100% |
| 11 | Intangible assets | Franchise, trademark, patents, license, copyright, know-how or other commercial or business rights of similar nature | 25% |
Depreciation Rates as per the Income Tax Act
Part A Tangible Assets:
| Asset Class | Sl.No | Asset Type | Rate of Depreciation |
| Building | 1 | Buildings used primarily for residential reasons (excluding boarding houses and hotels) | 5% |
| 2 | Buildings apart from those used primarily for residential reasons and not covered by subitems 1 (above) and 3 (below) | 100% | |
| 3 | Buildings procured on or after September 1, 2002, for installing plant and machinery forming part of water treatment system or water supply project and which is used for the purpose of business of providing infrastructure facilities under clause (i) of subsection (4) of section 80-IA | 100% | |
| 4 | Purely temporary erections like wooden structures | 100% | |
| Furniture and fittings | Furniture and fittings including electrical fittings | 10% | |
| Plant and machinery | 1 | Plant and machinery excluding those covered by sub-items (2), (3) and (8) below | 15% |
| 2 | Motor cars, excluding those used in a business of running them on hire, procured or put to use on or after April 1, 1990 | 15% | |
| 3(i) | Aeroplanes, Aero Engines | 40% | |
| 3(ii) | Motor taxis, motor buses and motor lorries used in a business of running them on hire | 30% | |
| 3(iii) | Commercial vehicle which is procured by the assessee on or after October 1, 1998, but before April 1, 1999, and is used for any period of time prior to April 1, 1999, for the purpose of profession or business in agreement with the third proviso to clause (ii) of sub-section (1) of section 32 | 40% | |
| 3(iv) | New commercial vehicle procured on or after October 1, 1998, but prior to April 1, 1999, in replacement of condemned vehicle of more than 15 years of age and is used for any period of time prior to April 1, 1999, for the purpose of profession or business in agreement with the third proviso to clause (ii) of sub-section (1) of section 32 | 60% | |
| 3(v) | New commercial vehicle procured on or after April 1, 1999, but before April 1, 2000, in replacement of condemned vehicle of more than 15 years of age and is put to use prior to April 1, 2000, for the purposes of profession or business in agreement with the second proviso to clause (ii) of sub-section (1) of section 32 | 60% | |
| 3(vi) | New commercial vehicle procured on or after April 1, 2001, but before April 1, 2002, and is put to use before April 1, 2002, for the purpose of profession or business | 50% | |
| 3(vii) | Moulds used in plastic and rubber goods factories | 30% | |
| 3(viii) | Air pollution control equipment
|
100% | |
| 3(ix) | Water pollution control equipment
|
30% | |
| 3(x) | (a) Solid waste, control equipment Cryolite / mineral / lime / caustic / chrome recovery system (b) Resource recovery and solid waste recycling systems | 100% | |
| 3(xi) | Plant and machinery used in semiconductor industry covering all integrated circuits (ICs) (not including hybrid integrated circuits) ranging from small scale integration (SSI) to large scale integration / very large scale integration (LSI/VLSI) as also discrete semiconductor devices like diodes, triacs, thyristors, transistors, etc., except those covered by entries (viii), (ix), (x) of this sub-item and sub-item (8) below | 30% | |
| 3(xi)a | Life Saving medical equipment
|
40% | |
| 4 | Containers made of plastic or glass used as refills | 50% | |
| 5 | Computers including computer software | 60% | |
| 6 | Plant and machinery, used in processing, weaving and garment sector of textile industry, which is bought under TUFS on or after April 1, 2001, but prior to April 1, 2004, and is put to use prior to April 1, 2004 | 50% | |
| 7 | Plant and machinery procured and installed on or after September 1, 2002, in a water treatment system or a water supply project and put to use for the purpose of business of providing infrastructure facility under clause (i) of sub-section (4) of section 80-IA | 100% | |
| 8 | 1. Wooden parts used in artificial silk manufacturing machinery | 100% | |
| 2. Match factories, wooden match frames | |||
| 3. Cinematograph films, bulbs of studio lights | 100% | ||
| 4. Salt works, condensers, reservoirs, salt pans, etc., made of clayey, sandy or earthy material or any other similar material | 100% | ||
| 5. Quarries and mines | 100% | ||
| Sand stowing pipes, winding ropes, tubs and haulage ropes | |||
| Safety lamps | |||
| 6. Flour mills, rollers | |||
| 7. Sugar works, rollers | 80% | ||
| 8. Steel and iron industry, rolling mill rolls | 80% | ||
| 9. Energy saving devices | 80% | ||
| (A) Furnaces and specialised boilers | |||
| (i) Fluidized bed boilers / ignifluid | 80% | ||
| (ii) Continuous pusher type furnaces and flameless furnaces | |||
| (iii) High efficiency boilers | |||
| (iv) Fluidized bed type heat treatment | |||
| (B) Instrumentation and monitoring system for monitoring energy flows | 80% | ||
| (i) Digital heat loss meters | |||
| (ii) Automatic electrical load monitoring systems | |||
| (iii) Infrared thermography | |||
| (iv) Microprocessor based control systems | |||
| (v) Meters for measuring heat losses, steam flow, furnace oil flow, power factor and electric energy meters | |||
| (vi) Exhaust gas analysers | |||
| (vii) Maximum demand indicator and clamp on power meters | |||
| (viii) Fuel oil pump test bench | |||
| (C) Waste heat recovery equipment | 80% | ||
| (i) Air pre-heaters and recuperators | |||
| (ii) Feed water heaters and economisers | |||
| (iii) Thermal energy wheel for low and high temperature heat recovery | |||
| (iv) Heat pumps | |||
| (D) Co-generation systems | 80% | ||
| (i) Controlled extraction, back pressure pass out, extraction cum condensing turbines for cogeneration along with pressure boilers | |||
| (ii) Organic rankine cycle power systems | |||
| (iii) Vapour absorption refrigeration systems | |||
| (iv) Low inlet pressure small steam turbines | |||
| (E) Electrical equipment | 80% | ||
| (i) Synchronous condenser systems and shunt capacitors | |||
| (ii) Relays (automatic power cut off devices) | |||
| (iii) Power factor controller for AC motors | |||
| (iv) Automatic voltage controller | |||
| (v) Solid state devices for controlling motor speeds | |||
| (vi) FACT (Flexible AC Transmission) devices, Thyristor controlled series compensation equipment | |||
| (vii) Thermally energy-efficient stenters | |||
| (viii) Series compensation equipment | |||
| (ix) TOD (Time of Day) energy meters | |||
| (x) Intelligent electronic devices/remote terminal units, computer software/hardware, bridges/router, other required equipment and associated communication systems for data acquisition systems and supervisory control, distribution management systems and energy management systems for power transmission systems | |||
| (xi) Special energy meters for ABT (Availability Based Tariff) | |||
| (F) Burners | 80% | ||
| (i) Zero to ten per cent excess air burners | |||
| (ii) Burners using air with high preheat temperature (above 300 degrees Celsius) | |||
| (iii) Emulsion burners | |||
| (G) Other equipment | 80% | ||
| (i) Mechanical vapour recompressors | |||
| (ii) Wet air oxidation equipment for recovery of heat and chemicals | |||
| (iii) Automatic microprocessor based load demand controllers | |||
| (iv) Thin film evaporators | |||
| (v) Fluid couplings and fluid drives | |||
| (vi) Coal based producer gas plants | |||
| (vii) Super-charges/turbo charges | |||
| (viii) Sealed radiation sources for radiation processing plants | |||
| 10. Gas cylinders including regulators and valves | 60% | ||
| 11. Glass manufacturing concerns, Direct fire glass melting furnaces | 60% | ||
| 12. Mineral oil concerns | 60% | ||
| (i) Plant used in field operations (above ground) distribution, returnable packages | |||
| (ii) Plant used in field operations (below ground), but not including kerbside pumps including fittings and tanks used in field operations (distribution) by mineral oil concerns | |||
| 13. Renewable energy devices | 60% | ||
| (i) Pipe type and concentrating solar collectors | |||
| (ii) Flat plate solar collectors | |||
| (iii) Solar cookers | |||
| (iv) Air/fluid/gas heating systems | |||
| (v) Solar water heaters and systems | |||
| (vi) Solar crop drivers and systems | |||
| (vii) Solar steels and desalination systems | |||
| (viii) Solar refrigeration, air conditioning systems and cold storages | |||
| (ix) Solar pumps based on solar-photovoltaic and solar-thermal conversion | |||
| (x) Solar power generating systems | |||
| (xi) Solar-photovoltaic panels and modules for water pumping and other applications | |||
| 14. Wind mills and any other specially designed devices that operate on wind mills (installed on or after April 1, 2014) | 80% | ||
| 15. Any special devices including electric pumps and generators operating on wind energy (installed on or after April 1, 2014) | 80% | ||
| 16. Books owned by assessees carrying on a profession | |||
| (i) Books, being annual publications | 100% | ||
| (ii) Books, excluding those covered by entry (i) above | 60% | ||
| (iii) Books owned by assessees carrying on business in running lending libraries | 100% | ||
| Ships | 4(i) | Ocean-going ships including tugs, survey launches, dredgers, barges and other similar ships used primarily for dredging purposes and sighing vessels with wooden hull | |
| 4(ii) | Vessels ordinarily operating on inland waters, not covered by sub-item (iii) below | 20% | |
| 4 (iii) | Vessels ordinarily operating on inland waters being speed boats | 20% |
Part B Intangible Assets:
Patents, know-how, trademarks,franchises,copyrights, licenses or any other commercial or business right of similar nature – 25% is the Depreciation Rate.
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