Capitalising foreign exchange fluctuation adjusts asset cost to reflect exchange-rate differences between acquisition and payment.
Section 42 requires capitalisation of foreign exchange variation by computing A = B - C, where B is INR paid during the tax year (excluding parts met by others) for asset cost or repayment of foreign-currency borrowings used to acquire the asset, and C is the INR liability corresponding to that payment at acquisition; the variation is added to or deducted from the asset's actual cost, specified capital expenditure categories, or cost of acquisition for set-off purposes, with forward-contract-covered amounts computed at the contract rate.