Previous Year and expectations

Previous Year indicates the financial year immediately preceding the assessment year. It is the year in which a person or entity earns income, which becomes taxable in the assessment year. In Income Tax Act, 1961, the term “previous year” is defined under section 3.

Previous Year is a period of 12 months, but it can be shorter than that too, such as in the case of a newly set up business or profession, the previous year will be less than 12 months, starting from the date of commencing the business and ending on 31st March of that financial year.

Further, if a source of income commences in a particular financial year, then also the previous year begins from the date on which the income generation starts and ends on the 31st March, of that particular financial year.

It is a common rule that the income of the previous year is assessed in the immediately following financial year. However, there are certain instances when the income of the previous year is assessed in the same year. These are:

• Shipping business of non-resident.
• Person leaving India, permanently having no intention of coming back.
• Association of persons, Body of individuals or any artificial juridical person established for a definite objective.
• Discontinued business
• Person is likely to transfer, sell or dispose of assets to avoid the payment of taxes.

The term previous year is very important because it is the income earned during previous year which is to be assessed to tax in the assessment year. As the word ‘Previous’ means ‘coming before’, hence it can be simply said that the previous year is the financial year preceding the assessment year e.g. for assessment year 2014-15 the previous year should be the financial year ending on 31st March 2014.

In simple words, it may be said that the year in which income is earned is called previous year and the next year in which such income is computed and put to tax is known as assessment year: For example, income earned by an assessee in the previous year 2013-14 is taxable in the assessment year relevant to the previous year 2013-14 and so it is taxable in the assessment year 2014-15. The simple rule is that the income of a previous year is taxed in its relevant assessment year subject to certain exceptions.

(a) Previous year in case of a continuing business. It is the financial year preceding the assessment year. As such for the assessment year 2014-15, the previous year for a continuing business is 2013-14 i.e. 1-4-2013 to 31-3-2014.

(b) Newly set up business or profession. The assessee is free to set up a new business or start a new profession on any day and the first previous year in case of a newly set up business/profession or newly created source of income shall be on the day it is set up and end on 31st March next following. So the first previous year may be of 12 months or less than 12 months but all subsequent previous years shall be of 12 months duration and always be starting on 1st April each year.

(c) In case of a Newly created source of Income. In such case the previous year shall be the period between the day on which such source comes into existence and 31st. March next following