Shanti Bhushan Seeks Tax Deduction for Cardiac Surgery

Shanti Bhushan, a renowned lawyer and a member of the Lok Pal Bill drafting committee, is seeking approval from the Supreme Court of India for the allowance of income tax deduction for the expenses made on heart surgery.
Though the plea made by Bhushan has been dismissed by the Delhi High Court on Wednesday, he has decided to move further with the same stand. Bhushan grounded his plea with the contention that the heart attack suffered by him was due to his professional work and hence, the expenditure incurred on medical treatment must be allowed as deduction under Section 31 of the Income Tax Act.
He further claimed that a heart is a plant and the medical expenses should be treated as current repairs. Bhushan added that after the operation, his professional receipts also increased substantially and the expenses incurred were wholly and exclusively for the profession, therefore deductible under section 37(1) of the Income Tax Act.
The high court dismissed the plea on the grounds that a heart cannot be considered as a plant because unlike other assets, it cannot be mentioned in the balance sheet. It further added that estimation of the cost of acquisition cannot be made and even if the heart is considered as a plant in the widest definition of it, it does not satisfy functionality test because it cannot be used as a tool in the profession. The High court also denied Bhushan’s contention regarding the purpose of incurrence of medical expenses being wholly and exclusively for profession, saying that there was no direct connection between the expenses made and the increase in professional receipts.
If the Supreme Court decides the case in Bhushan’s favour, a new law will come into effect and expenses on heart surgeries by professionals will become tax –deductible.