ITAT : Speed-boat utilised for professional work commutation, akin to ‘business asset’; Allows expenses

Mumbai ITAT allows Akshaye Khanna’s claim for expenditure (depreciation, insurance expenses) on account of speed boat owned by him for AY 2012-13, rejects Revenue’s stand that the entire speed boat expenses were personal in nature; Notes that assessee has been utilizing the speed boat for commuting from his house in Mumbai to his farm house in Alibaug ,where professional activities such as reading, evaluating stories and scripts, acting practice, speech improvements, story sessions etc. were being carried out; ITAT equates the speed boat with a business asset, being utilized by assessee for commutation for professional work and allows the expenditure thereto “like any other travelling mode like motor-car etc.”; Also observes that the speed-boat forms part of the 15% block of Fixed Assets, thereby constituting business asset; Furthermore, ITAT observes that the assessee had suo-moto disallowed 25% of the expenditure on estimated basis to account for personal element / usage.:ITAT