Hire purchase is a mode of financing the price of the goods to be sold on a future date. In a hire purchase transaction, the goods are let on hire, the purchase price is to be paid in instalments and hirer is allowed an option to purchase the goods by paying all the instalments. Hire purchase is a method of selling goods. In a hire purchase transaction the goods are let-out on hire by a finance company (creditor) to the hire purchase customer (hirer). The buyer is required to pay an agreed amount in periodical instalments during a given period. The ownership of the property remains with creditor and passes on to hirer on the payment of the last instalment.
Supreme court has laid down that the sum and substance of hire purchase is two fold. One, the owner under the agreement enters into a transaction of hiring out the goods on the terms and conditions mentioned in the agreement. second, the option to purchase exercisable by the hirer on payment of all the installments of hire, arises when the installments are paid and not until then. There is no agreement to buy goods, the hirer being under no obligation to buy but has an option to return the goods or to become its owner by payment in full of the hire agreed installments and the price for exercising the option.
Illustration:
A sells a refrigerator to B with a stipulation that B shall pay A fixed sum every month by way of installments till the full price of the refrigerator is paid. Now till B pays the full amount to A by way of installments, he does not become the owner of the refrigerator . He can discontinue payment of further installments. In such case, A takes back the refrigerator has no right to recover installments already paid by him to A because the amount paid by him is adjusted towards the hire charges of refrigerator. This is called a hire purchase agreement.
Hire Purchase Hire purchase is governed by the Hire Purchase Act, 1972. In case of Hire purchase, the ownership of goods is transferred to buyer on payment of all installments. In case of hire purchase, the payment is made in installments. The hire purchaser pays for the price of goods and also some amount of interest. On non-payment of any installment, the seller can re-possess the goods. Either the buyer or the seller can terminate the contract at any point of time, until the payments of last installment. When the hire purchaser becomes insolvent, the seller can reposes the goods, and hence need not undertake the risk of loss. In this case, the sales tax will be leviable at the time of ownership (i.e. on payment of last installment).
Illustration:
A purchases a machine for down payment of Rs. 20000 and 3 annual instalments of 20000each. Cash price is 74500. show theaccounting ? Rate of interest 5% 74500 20000 = 54500interest = 2725amount due : 57225 2nd instalement 20000amount due : 37225interest = 1861 due = 39086 3rd instalment : 20000, balance : 19086 interest (balancing amt) : 914last instalment 20000 balance = nil
Legal Framework
There is no exclusive legislation dealing with hire purchase transaction in India. The Hire purchase Act was passed in 1972. An Amendment bill was introduced in 1989 to amend some of the provisions of the act. However, the act has been enforced so far. The provisions of are not inconsistent with the general law and can be followed as a guideline particularly where no provisions exist in the general laws which, in the absence of any specific law, govern the hire purchase transactions. The act contains provisions for regulating: 1. the format / contents of the hire-purchase agreement 2. warrants and the conditions underlying the hire-purchase agreement, 3. ceiling on hire-purchase charges, 4. rights and obligations of the hirer and the owner. In absence of any specific law, the hire purchase transactions are governed by the provisions of the Indian Contract Act and the Sale of Goods Act
Hire charges: it is an amount refers to the difference between hire purchase price and cash price (H P- C P= H C) it also referred to as interest. Statutory hire charges: it is a hire charges according to the hire purchase act of, 1972. Hire purchase agreement: it is an agreement between hire purchaser and hire vendor according to section 2(c) of the hire purchase act 1972, for purchasing of goods according to agreement. Termination of hire purchase agreement: The hirer can terminate the agreement at any time by giving the 14 days notice to the owner. However what ever the amount is already paid by the hirer is considered as a hire charges.
Dealer delivers the goods to the customer, property passes on to the finance co..
Hirer pays EMIs, and on last payment , the ownership passes on to him, with loan completion certificate by the finance co
CASE
In Auto supply company vs Raghunatha chetty a company had agreed to offer a bus on a hire purchase agreement on condition that rs 1140/ were to be paid by the hirer on delivery and 11 monthly installments were to be paid thereafter, each of rs. 226 and the owners were to be entitled to terminate the contract on default occurring if hirer for any month was in arrears. A suit was brought by the owners for possession of the bus on the happening of the said condition. Lord coutts-trotter,c.j. held that though there was no such explicit condition, yet it was the necessary implication that when the agreement terminated either by choice or default of the hirer ,all sums paid by him are to be retained by the owners, the amount Rs.1140/- being construed either as the installment of the hire money or as the premium taken by the owner for granting lease and in either case money received was not to be refunded. The money was not to be regarded as advance of rent.
The hirer has the option to purchase the goods Is a method of financing business assets & consumer articles Depreciation & investment allowance can be claimed Only the interest is tax component deductible Hirer enjoys the salvage value of the asset
In leasing the lessee has no option to buy the goods Is a method of financing business assets only Depreciation & investment allowance cannot be claimed Entire lease rental is tax deductible Lessee does not enjoy the salvage value of the asset
Meaning Of leasing
A lease transaction is a commercial arrangement whereby an equipment owner or Manufacturer conveys to the equipment user the right to use the equipment in return for a rental. In other words, lease is a contract between the owner of an asset (the Lessor) and its user (the lessee) for the right to use the asset during a specified period in return for a mutually agreed periodic payment (the lease rentals). The important feature of a lease contract is separation of the ownership of the asset from its usage. Lease financing is based on the observation made by Donald B. Grant: Why own a cow when the milk is so cheap? All you really need is milk and not the cow.
Leasing In India
Leasing has grown by leaps and bounds in the eighties but it is estimated that hardly 1% of the industrial investment in India is covered by the lease finance, as against 40% in USA and 30% in UK and 10% in Japan. The prospects of leasing in India are good due to growing investment needs and scarcity of funds with public financial institutions. This type of lease finances is particularly suitable in India where a large number of small companies have emerged more recently. Leasing in the sphere of land and building has been in existence in India for a long time, while equipment leasing has become very common in the recent times.
Financial lease Long-term, non-cancellable lease contracts are known as financial leases. The essential point of financial lease agreement is that it contains a condition whereby the lessor agrees to transfer the title for the asset at the end of the lease period at a nominal cost. At lease it must give an option to the lessee to purchase the asset he has used at the expiry of the lease. Operating lease An operating lease stands in contrast to the financial lease in almost all aspects. This lease agreement gives to the lessee only a limited right to use the asset. The lessor is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the asset. The lessee is not given any uplift to purchase the asset at the end of the lease period. Normally the lease is for a short period and even otherwise is revocable at a short notice. Mines, Computers hardware, trucks and automobiles are found suitable for operating lease because the rate of obsolescence is very high in this kind of assets.
Sale and lease back It is a sub-part of finance lease. Under this, the owner of an asset sells the asset to a party (the buyer), who in turn leases back the same asset to the owner in consideration of lease rentals. However, under this arrangement, the assets are not physically exchanged but it all happens in records only. Leveraged leasing Under leveraged leasing arrangement, a third party is involved beside lessor and lessee. The lessor borrows a part of the purchase cost (say 80%) of the asset from the third party i.e., lender and the asset so purchased is held as security against the loan.
Direct leasing Under direct leasing, a firm acquires the right to use an asset from the manufacturer directly. The ownership of the asset leased out remains with the manufacturer itself. The major types of direct lessor include manufacturers, finance companies, independent lease companies, special purpose leasing companies etc
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