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scenario in some depth. The areas covered are Accounting for Foreign Exchange Derivatives and Stock Index Futures. Stock Index Futures are provided more coverage as these have been introduced recently and would be of immediate benefit to practitioners. International perspective is also provided with a short discussion on fair value accounting. The implications of Accounting practices in the US (FASB-133) are also discussed. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has come out with a Guidance Note for Accounting of Index Futures in December 2000. The guidelines provided here in this Section below are in accordance with the contents of this Guidance Note. INDIAN ACCOUNTING PRACTICES Accounting for foreign exchange derivatives is guided by Accounting Standard 11. Accounting for Stock Index futures is expected to be governed by a Guidance Note shortly expected to be issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Foreign Exchange Forwards An enterprise may enter into a forward exchange contract, or another financial instrument that is in substance a forward exchange contract to establish the amount of the reporting currency required or available at the settlement date of transaction. Accounting Standard 11 provides that the difference between the forward rate and the exchange rate at the date of the transaction should be recognised as income or expense over the life of the contract. Further the profit or loss arising on cancellation or renewal of a forward exchange contract should be recognised as income or as expense for the period. Example Suppose XYZ Ltd needs US $ 3,00,000 on 1st May 2000 for repayment of loan installment and interest. As on 1st December 1999, it appears to the company that the US $ may be dearer as compared to the exchange rate prevailing on that date, say US $ 1 = Rs. 43.50. Accordingly, XYZ Ltd may enter into a forward contract with a banker for US $ 3,00,000. The forward rate may be higher or lower than the spot rate prevailing on the date of the forward contract. Let us assume forward rate as on 1st December 1999 was US$ 1 = Rs. 44 as against the spot rate of Rs. 43.50. As on the future date, i.e., 1st May 2000, the banker will pay XYZ Ltd $ 3,00,000 at Rs. 44 irrespective of the spot rate as on that date. Let us assume that the Spot rate as on that date be US $ 1 = Rs. 44.80 In the given example XYZ Ltd gained Rs. 2,40,000 by entering into the forward contract.
Payment to be made as per forward contract (US $ 3,00,000 * Rs. 44) Amount payable had the forward contract not been in place (US $ 3,00,000 * Rs. 44.80) Gain arising out of the forward exchange contract
difference between the spot rate and forward rate as on 1st December is Rs.0.50 per US $. In other words the total loss was Rs. 1,50,000 as on the date of forward contract. Since the financial year of the company ends on 31st March every year, the loss arising out of the forward contract should be apportioned on time basis. In the given example, the time ratio would be 4 : 1; so a loss of Rs. 1,20,000 should be apportioned to the accounting year 1999-2000 and the balance Rs. 30,000 should be apportioned to 2000-2001. The Standard requires that the exchange difference between forward rate and spot rate on the date of forward contract be accounted. As a result, the benefits or losses accruing due to the forward cover are not accounted.
not recognising fair value, it is widely expected that stock index futures will also be accounted based on prudent accounting conventions. The Institute is finalising a Guidance Note on this area, which is expected to be shortly released. The accounting suggestions provided in the Indian context in the following paragraphs should be read in this perspective. The suggestions contained are based on the authors personal views on the subject.
Regulatory Framework
The index futures market in India is regulated by the Reports of the Dr L C Gupta Committee and the Prof J R Verma Committee. Both the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange have set up independent derivatives segments, where select broker-members have been permitted to operate. These broker-members are required to satisfy net worth and other criteria as specified by the SEBI Committees. Each client who buys or sells stock index futures is first required to deposit an Initial Margin. This margin is generally a percentage of the amount of exposure that the client takes up and varies from time to time based on the volatility levels in the market. At the point of buying or selling index futures, the payment made by the client towards Initial Margin would be reflected as an Asset in the Balance Sheet.
Example
Mr. X purchases following two lots of Sensex Futures Contracts on 4th Sept. 2000 :
1 Contract @ 1 Contract @
Mr X will be required to pay an Initial Margin before entering into these transactions. Suppose the Initial Margin is 6%, the amount of Margin will come to Rs 28,050 (50 Units per Contract on the Bombay Stock Exchange). The accounting entry will be :
28,050 28,050
If the daily settlement prices of the above Sensex Futures were as follows:
07/09/00 08/09/00
4500 4490
---
Let us assume that Mr X he sold the November Series contract at Rs 4,810. The amount of Mark-to-Market Margin Money Sensex receivable/payable due to increase/decrease in daily settlement prices is as below. Please note that one Contract on the Bombay Stock Exchange implies 50 underlying Units of the Sensex.
Date 4th September 2000 5th September 2000 6th September 2000 7th September 2000 8th September 2000
October Series October Series November Series November Series Receive(RS) Pay(RS) Receive(RS) Pay(RS) 1,000 500 2,500 1,500 1,000 500 -
The amount of Mark-to-Market Margin Money received/paid will be credited/debited to Mark-toMarket Margin Account on a day to day basis. For example, on the 4th of September the following entry will be passed:
TOn the 6 of Sept 2000, Mr X will account for the profit or loss on the November Series Contract. He purchased the Contract at Rs 4,850 and sold at Rs 4,810. He therefore suffered a loss of Rs 40 per Sensex Unit or Rs 2,000 on the Contract. This loss will be accounted on 6th Sept. Further, the Initial Margin paid on the November Series will be refunded back on squaring up of the transaction. This receipt will be accounted by crediting the Initial Margin Account so that this Account is reduced to zero. The Mark to Margin Account will contain transactions pertaining to this Futures Series. This component will also be reversed on 6th Sept 2000.
Bank Account Dr Loss on November Series Initial Margin Mark to Market Margin
Example
A client has bought Sensex futures for Rs 2,00,000 on 1st March and Nifty futures for Rs 2,50,000 on 7th March. On the 31st of March, the market values of these futures are Rs 2,20,000 and Rs 2,35,000 respectively. He has not squared up these transactions as on 31st March. The client has an unrealised profit of Rs 20,000 on the Sensex futures and an unrealised loss of Rs 15,000 on the Nifty futures. As the net result is a profit, he will not account for any profit or loss in this accounting period.
Alternative Example
A client has bought Sensex futures for Rs 2,00,000 on 1st March and Nifty futures for Rs 2,50,000 on 7th March. On the 31st of March, the market values of these futures are Rs 2,20,000 and Rs 2,15,000 respectively. He has not squared up these transactions as on 31st March. The client has an unrealised profit of Rs 20,000 on the Sensex futures and an unrealised loss of Rs 35,000 on the Nifty futures. As the net result is a loss of Rs 15,000, he will record a provision towards losses in his Profit or Loss Account in this accounting period. In the next year, the Nifty future is actually sold for Rs 2,10,000.
At this point, the total loss on that future is Rs 40,000. However, Rs 15,000 has already been accounted in the earlier financial year. The balance of Rs 25,000 will be accounted in the next financial year.
INTERNATIONAL PRACTICES
Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 133 issued by the Financial Accounting Standard Board, US defines the criteria /attributes which an instrument should have to be called as derivative and also provides guidance for accounting of derivatives. The Standard is facing tough opposition and controversies from the US business and industry. What is a Derivative? The standard defines a derivative as an instrument having following characteristics: y y A derivatives cash flows or fair value must fluctuate or vary based on the changes in an underlying variable. The contract must be based on a notional amount of quantity. The notional amount is the fixed amount or quantity that determines the size of change caused by the movement of the underlying. The contract can be readily settled by net cash payment
Example
An individual having a portfolio consisting of shares of Infosys and BSES, may decide to hedge this portfolio using the Sensex Futures Contract. The gain or loss on the index futures contract would compensate the loss or gain on the portfolio. Both the gains and losses will be recognised in the Profit and Loss Statement. If the hedge is perfect, gains and losses will offset each other and hence will not have any impact on the current earnings. However, if the hedge is not a perfect hedge, there would be a difference between the gain and the compensating loss. This would affect the current reported earnings of the individual. If the derivative instrument hedges risk of variations in cash flow on a recognised asset and liability, it is called Cash Flow hedge. The gain or loss on such derivative instruments will be transferred to current earnings of the same period or the periods during which the forecasted transaction affects the earnings. The remaining gain or loss on the derivative instrument if any shall be recognised currently in earnings.
Similarly if the derivative instrument hedges risk of exposures arising out of foreign currency transactions or investments overseas or in subsidiaries, it is called Foreign Currency Hedge.
Hedge Recognition
Accounting treatment for trading and hedging is completely different. In order to qualify as a hedge transaction, the company should at the inception of the transaction: y y y y y Designate the hedge relationship Document such relationship Identifying hedge item, hedge instrument and risks being hedged Expect hedge to be highly effective Lay down reasonable basis for assessment effectiveness. Ineffectiveness may be reported in the current financial statements earnings.
Earlier there was no concept of partial effectiveness of hedge. However FASB recognised that not all hedging transactions can be perfect. There can be a degree of ineffectiveness which should be recognized. The Statement requires that the assessment of effectiveness must be consistent with risk management strategies documented for that particular hedge relationship. Further the assessment of effectiveness is required whenever financial statements or earnings are reported.
Conclusion
The Indian accounting guidelines in this area need to be carefully reviewed. The international trend is moving towards marking the underlying securities as well as associated derivative instruments to market. Such a practice would bring into the accounts a clear picture of the impact of derivatives related operations. Indian accounting is based on traditional prudence where profits are not recognised till realisation. This practice, though sound in general, appears to be inconsistent with reality in a highly liquid and vibrant area like derivatives. TAXATION OF DERIVATIVE TRANSACTIONS IN INDEX FUTURES This Note seeks to provide information on the taxation aspects of index futures transactions. The contents of this Note should not be treated as advice or guidance or authoritative pronouncements. Readers are advised to consult their tax advisors before taking any action relating to their tax computations or planning. This Note is not intended for any such purpose. In the absence of special provisions, the current provisions, which are inadequate to handle the complexities involved are reviewed in this Note. It is expected that the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) will shortly provide guidelines for taxation aspects of Derivative transactions.
through price fluctuations. Another exception is provide for contracts entered into by a member of a forward market or a stock exchange in the course of any transaction in the nature of jobbing or arbitrage to guard against loss which may arise in the ordinary course of his business as such member. The CBDT has issued a Circular No 23 dated 12th September 1960 on this area. The important provisions of this Circular are summarised below: y Hedging sales can be taken to be genuine only to the extent the total of such transactions does not exceed the ready stock, the loss arising from excess transactions should be treated as total stocks of raw material or merchandise in hand. If forward sales exceed speculative losses. Hedging transactions in connected, though not the same, commodities should not be treated as speculative transactions. It cannot be accepted that a dealer or investor in stocks or shares can enter into hedging transactions outside his holdings. By this interpretation, transactions in index futures will not be covered under the definition of hedging. Speculation loss, if any carried forward from earlier years, could first be adjusted against speculation profits of the particular year before allowing any other loss to be adjusted against those profits.
y y
Deemed Speculation
As per Explanation to Section 73, where any part of the business of a company consists in the purchase and sale of shares of other companies, such company shall, for the purposes of this Section, be deemed to be carrying on a speculation business to the extent to which the business consists of purchase and sale of such shares. The CBDT has issued a Circular No 23 dated 12th September 1960 on this area. The important provisions of this Circular are summarised below: y Company whose Gross Total Income consists mainly of Income chargeable under the heads Interest on Securities, Income from House Property, Capital Gains and Income from Other Sources Company whose principal business is Banking Company whose principal business is granting of loans and advances
y y
Most brokers and dealers are currently caught within the mischief of this Explanation, especially after the wave of corporatisation of brokers businesses. The Explanation however does not cover index futures.
Possible Arguments :
It is possible to argue that index futures transactions are not speculative transactions. Some lines of argument are explored below. 1. Section 43(5) speaks of purchase and sale of any commodity, including shares and stocks. Index futures are not commodities. Further, index futures are also not stocks and shares. Hence, section 43(5) does not apply to futures transactions. The question of examining the provisos (exceptions) does not arise. 2. Exceptions to speculative transactions as provided in Section 43(5) also include hedging transactions undertaken in respect of stocks and shares. Proviso (b) to Section 43(5) sates a contract in respect of stocks and shares entered into by a dealer or investor therein to guard against loss in his holdings of stocks and shares through price fluctuations. It however remains to be seen whether index futures can be covered under stocks and shares. To our mind, it appears that if index futures are considered to be part of stocks and shares as per the wording of Section 43(5), then the proviso will also become applicable and hence hedging contracts through the mechanism of index futures will not be considered speculative. On the other hand, if index futures are not part of stocks and shares, then neither Section 43(5) nor the proviso apply and hence the entire gamut of index futures transactions will remain out of the purview of speculative transactions. 3. Explanation to Section 73 speaks of purchase and sale of shares of other companies. Index futures are not shares. Hence, this Explanation does not apply to futures transactions. It is believed and understood that foreign exchange forward transactions are currently not being caught within the mischief of Sections 43 and 73. This lends more comfort to the possibility of index futures also being left out of this net, though only experience will indicate the stand the Income tax department will take. Other Possible Controversies: 1. The Income tax department may take a stand that profits and losses accrue on a day to day basis, in view of the daily settlement procedure. This could be contrary to the accounting guidelines, which (as it currently appears) may advocate profit (loss) recognition at the expiry of the contract. 2. It appears currently that accounting guidelines will require recognition of unrealised losses at financial year end, but not unrealised profits. The Income tax department may not agree with this conservative treatment APPENDICES 1. 2. 3. 4. Section 43(5) Section 73 Section 28 - Explanation Circular No 23 dated 12th September 1960
APPENDIX 1 INCOME TAX ACT, 1961 Section 43 (5)1 Speculative transaction means a transaction in which a contract for the purchase or sale of any commodity, including stocks and shares, is periodically or ultimately settled otherwise than by the actual delivery or transfer of the commodity or scrips: Provided that for the purpose of this clause: a. a contract in respect of raw materials or merchandise entered into by a person in the course of his manufacturing or merchanting business to guard loss against loss through future price
fluctuations in respect of his contracts for actual delivery of goods manufactured by him or merchandise sold by him; or
b. a contract in respect of stocks and shares entered into by a dealer or investor therein to guard against loss in his holdings of stocks and shares through price fluctuations; or
c.
a contract entered into by a member of a forward market or a stock exchange in the course of any transaction in the nature of jobbing or arbitrage to guard against loss which may arise in the ordinary course of his business as such member
APPENDIX 2 INCOME TAX ACT, 1961 SECTION 73 Losses in speculation business 1. Any loss, computed in respect of a speculation business carried on by the assessee, shall not be set off except against profits and gains, if any, of another speculation business. 2. Where for any assessment year any loss computed in respect of a speculation business has not been wholly set off under sub-section (1), so much of the loss as is not so set off or the whole loss where the assessee had no income from any other speculation business, shall, subject to the other provisions of this chapter, be carried forward to the following assessment year,and:
i. ii.
it shall be set off against the profit and gains, if any, of any speculation business carried forward to the following assessment year; and if the loss cannot be wholly set off, the amount of the loss not so set off shall be carried forward to the following assessment year and so on.
3. In respect of allowance on account of depreciation or capital expenditure on scientific research, the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 72 shall apply in relation to speculation business as they apply in relation to any other business. 4. No loss shall be carried forward under this section for more than eight assessment years immediately succeeding the assessment year for which the loss was first computed. Explanation. Where any part of the business of a company (other than a company whose gross total income consists mainly of income which is chargeable under the heads Interest on securities, Income from house property, Capital gains and Income from other sources or a company the principal business of which is the business of banking or the granting of loans and advances) consists in the purchase and sale of shares of other companies, such company shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be carrying on a speculation business to the extent to which the business consists of the purchase and sale of such shares. APPENDIX 3 Section 28
Explanation 2 Where speculative transactions carried on by an assessee are of such a nature as to constitute a business, the business (hereinafter referred to as speculation business) shall be deemed to be distinct and separate from any other business. APPENDIX 4 Central Board of Revenue Circular No. 23(XXXIX) of 1960 Dated 12th September 1960 A number of representations and suggestions have been received by the Board from associations and chambers of commerce regarding the manner in which the provisions of section 24 of the Income-tax Act, particularly those of explanation 2 to sub-section (1) thereof, are being interpreted and applied by the Income-tax officers. The Direct Taxes Administration Enquiry Committee have also made a few suggestions on this subject in chapter III of their Report. The board have carefully considered the points involved. Those points and their decisions thereon are given below : Point (i) Under clause (a) of the proviso to Explanation 2 to section 24(1) of the Income-tax Act 1922, the Income-tax Officers exclude from the category of speculative transactions only a hedging purchase transaction entered into with reference to specific contracts for sale of goods but do not exclude a hedging sale transaction made against stocks in hand or against contracts for purchase of ready goods. The latter type of transactions are also genuine hedging transactions and should be excluded from the category of speculative transactions so that any losses sustained therein will be allowed to be set off against other income. Boards decision The intention has always been that where bonafide forward sales are entered into with a view to guarding against the risk of raw materials or merchandise in stock falling in value, the losses arising as a result of such forward sales should not be treated as speculation losses. Accordingly, Income-tax Officers should not treat such transactions as speculative transactions within the meaning of Explanation 2 to Section 24(1). It is to be noted in this connection that hedging sales can be taken to be genuine only to the extent the total of such transactions does not exceed the total stocks of raw materials or merchandise in hand. If the forward sales exceed the ready stock, the loss arising from the excess transactions should be treated as loss arising from speculative transactions and not from genuine hedging transactions. Point (ii) Hedging transactions in connected, though not the same, commodities should not be treated as speculative transactions Boards decision The Board accepted this point. Attention is invited to Boards letter No. 13(102) IT/53 dated September 8, 1954, in which it was stated that as regards hedging in raw materials, the Income-tax Officers should not be particular about the quantities and timing so long as the transactions constitute genuine hedging. Similarly, Income-tax officers should not treat genuine transactions in connected commodities as speculative transactions though the transactions may not be in identically the same commodity. Thus, hedging transactions in one type of cotton against another type of cotton, one variety of oil seed against another, one type of grain against another, should not be treated as speculative transactions provided the other conditions of Explanation 2 to section 24 are satisfied. The conditions mentioned in last two sentences of the decision on point (i) above will apply here also. Point (iii) Where a transaction contemplating actual delivery is ultimately settled (wholly or partially) by paying differences and without actual delivery due to any reasons and where there was no intention to speculate, the transaction should be excluded from the purview of speculative transactions Boards decision The Board are unable to accept this suggestion as a general rule. It is already provided that if on the facts of any case it can be demonstrated that the forward transaction has been entered into only for safeguarding against loss through future price fluctuations, such a transaction should not be treated as a speculative transaction but as a case of hedging. However, the case of a
bonafide ready delivery contract being settled by delivery to a substantial extent and by payment of difference paid need be treated as a loss arising in a speculative transaction. Point (iv) Bonafide hedging transactions by a dealer or investors on shares should be allowed provided that the hedging transactions are up to the amount of his holdings even though these transactions may extend to other types of shares not held by him. Boards decision The Board are unable to accept this suggestion. It cannot be accepted that a dealer or investor in stocks or shares can enter into hedging transactions in scrips outside his holding. The materials words in clause (b) of the proviso to Explanation 2 to section 24(1) are to guard against loss in his holdings of stocks and shares through price fluctuations Therefore, hedging transactions having reasonable relations to the value and volume of the dealers or the investors holdings are expected from the ambit of speculative transactions; but transactions in scrips outside his holding are not. Point (v) Speculation loss, if any carried forward from the earlier years or the speculation loss, if any in a year should first be adjusted against speculation profits of the particular year before allowing any other loss to be adjusted against those profits. Boards decision The suggestion is accepted. For the purpose of set-off under section 10 and section 24(1) (of the 1922 Act) the speculation loss of any year should be first set-off against the speculation profits of that year and the remaining amount of speculation profits, if any, should then be utilised for setting off of any loss of that year from other sources. For the purpose of section 24(2) (of the 1922 Act) the Income-tax Officer may allow the assessee: i. ii. (i) either to first set off the speculation losses carried forward from an earlier year against the speculation profits of the current year and then set off the current years losses from other sources against the remaining part, if any, of the current years speculation profits, or to first set off the current years losses from non-specculation business and other sources against the current years speculation profit and then to set off the carried forward speculation losses of the earlier year against the remaining part, if any of the current years speculation profit, whichever is advantageous to the assessee.