Can CSR expenditure of a company be claimed as a business Expenditure in India?

Question

Can CSR be done in kind ? i.e. If a company is in the business of publications of books whether it can donate books for the purpose of CSR ?

Answer 1

The Finance Act, 2014 provides that any expenditure incurred by an assessee on the activities relating to corporate social responsibility referred to in section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 shall not be deemed to be an expenditure incurred by the
assessee for the purposes of the business or profession. Accordingly, the amount spent by a company towards CSR can not be claimed as business expenditure.