Section 236 - Relief to company in respect of dividend paid out of past taxed profits

Relief for companies on dividends from past taxed profits: tax credit against current tax for such dividends, excess refundable.

Where an Indian company (or a company with prescribed domestic dividend arrangements) pays dividends out of profits that were actually charged to income-tax for assessment years ending before 1 April 1960 and tax has been deducted under Chapter XVII-B, the company receives a credit against the income-tax payable for the year in which the dividend is paid equal to ten per cent of the portion of such dividends paid out of those past taxed profits; any excess credit over tax payable is refundable. The section also sets the ordering rule for which years' distributable income is deemed applied and defines distributable income by reductions and increases to total income.