Director Of Income Tax (It)-I, Mumbai vs M/S. American Express Bank Ltd

insc-2025-1431 Supreme Court of India 15 December 2025 • CIVIL APPEAL NO. 8291 OF 2015; CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4451 OF 2016 • 61 min read
17 cases cited (0 SG, 17 foreign) Cited by 1 case

Practice Areas

Judges (2)

Parties (2)

Case Significance

Director Of Income Tax (It)-I, Mumbai vs M/S. American Express Bank Ltd is a Supreme Court of India decision dated December 15, 2025 (citation: insc-2025-1431). Tax appeals regarding interpretation of Section 44C of the Income Tax Act on whether it covers only 'common expenditure' or also 'exclusive expenditure' incurred by a foreign bank's head office for Indian branches. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Revenue, holding Section 44C applies regardless of whether expenditure is common or exclusive, and remanded for factual verification of the tripartite test. The bench comprised Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan. The judgment was delivered by Justice J.B. Pardiwala.

This case has been cited by 1 subsequent judgment. The judgment references 17 case citations.

Summary

Tax appeals regarding interpretation of Section 44C of the Income Tax Act on whether it covers only 'common expenditure' or also 'exclusive expenditure' incurred by a foreign bank's head office for Indian branches. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Revenue, holding Section 44C applies regardless of whether expenditure is common or exclusive, and remanded for factual verification of the tripartite test.

What was the outcome of Director Of Income Tax (It)-I, Mumbai vs M/S. American Express Bank Ltd?

Tax appeals regarding interpretation of Section 44C of the Income Tax Act on whether it covers only 'common expenditure' or also 'exclusive expenditure' incurred by a foreign bank's head office for In...

Statutes Cited

Cases Cited (17)

IN (17)
(1955) 1 SCC 763 (1971) 2 SCC 741 (1987) 1 SCC 424 (1990) 4 SCC 366 (1999) 3 SCC 346 (2001) 7 SCC 71 (2007) 6 SCC 429 (2016) 6 SCC 747 (2017) 7 SCC 421 1957 SCC OnLine SC 23 1957 SCC OnLine SC 33 1957 SCC OnLine SC 8 1958 SCC OnLine SC 53 1960 SCC OnLine SC 118 1961 SCC OnLine SC 56 1962 SCC OnLine SC 12 2025 INSC 1431

Cited By (1)

Judgment

Read the full judgment on the official India Courts portal.

Read on Indian Kanoon

Source: Indian Kanoon (insc-2025-1431)