Under Income tax Act, depreciation is claimed only from date of PUT TO USE.Meaning of put to use is ready to use condition.In case of imported car, when it has been cleared from customs, paid all statutory customs dues and ready to drive on road, on that date, you can claim depreciation on imported car.
As per Explanation 11 to Sec 43(1) where an asset which was acquired outside India by an assessee, being a non-resident, is brought by him to India and used for the purposes of his business or profession, the actual cost of the asset to the assessee shall be the actual cost to the assessee, as reduced by an amount equal to the amount of depreciation calculated at the rate in force that would have been allowable had the asset been used in India for the said purposes since the date of its acquisition by the assessee.
Further, the date for computaiton of current depreciaiton shall be taken when the asset has been put to use as decided by the directors in the board meeting. Alternatively you may take the date of Bill of lading / custom invoice.
Apart from above answers also consider this that as The second proviso to section 32(1)(ii) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which disallows depreciation on foreign motor cars, is reproduced below :—
“Provided further that no deduction shall be allowed under this clause in respect of any motor car manufactured outside India, where such motor car is acquired by the assessee after the 28th day of February, 1975, and is used otherwise than in a business of running it on hire for tourists.”
2.1 The intention behind this provision is to discourage use of foreign cars for the purposes of business or profession. However, in order to promote tourism industry, an exception has been made in the case of foreign motor cars used in a business of running them on hire for tourists, on which full depreciation is allowable.
2.2 Where tour operators or travel agents use certain foreign motor cars, owned by them, for providing transportation services to tourists, depreciation should be allowed on these cars. The position will not change even where such transportation services are provided as a part of package tour for tourists, which may include a number of other services like boarding and lodging, service of guides, etc. A tourist, who opts for a package tour, agrees to pay for a number of services including use of car provided to him by the tour operator or travel agent. Thus, it can be said that the car has been taken by him on hire from such tour operator or travel agent. Therefore, depreciation on foreign motor cars, owned by him and used for providing transportation services to tourists, whether in a package tour or otherwise, should be allowed.
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