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Microlesson · 5-min read

Income Recognition — Renegotiations, Bills Purchased & Bills for Collection

## Income Recognition: Renegotiations, Bills Purchased & Bills for Collection

### Renegotiation / Rescheduling of Outstanding Debts

When a bank renegotiates or reschedules a debt, it typically earns a commission for doing so. That commission must be recognised over the period covered by the renegotiated or rescheduled credit — not as a lump sum upfront.

> Principle: income recognition must match the period to which the service relates.

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### Bills Purchased (Discounted by Bank)

When a bank purchases (discounts) a bill:

  • The discount is the bank's income.
  • That discount income must be spread over the tenor of the bill, not taken entirely in the period of purchase.

Formula split:

PortionTreatment
Discount for expired period (X/12)Recognised as income in the current period
Discount for unexpired period (remaining months/12)Shown as "Other Liabilities" (deferred income)

Rediscounting: If the bank rediscounts the bill with another bank at a lower rate, netting off of income and expense is not permitted. Both sides are shown gross. Only the net surplus is the bank's real income from the transaction.

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### Bills for Collection

The bank acts purely as an agent (collecting agent). Key rules:

1. Customer's account is credited only after the bill has actually been collected from the drawer.

2. Bank's commission becomes due only on actual collection — not on receipt of the bill for collection.

> There is a clear distinction: Bill Discounting (bank funds the customer upfront) vs Bill for Collection (bank collects on behalf of the customer — no funding, purely agency).

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### Advances Against Securities (NSC, FD, etc.)

If adequate security is available against the advance, interest may be recognised on due dates (accrual basis is acceptable).

Worked example

### Example 1

Bill Purchased Example:

Bank purchases a bill on 1/1/2025, with a face value of Rs 1,00,000 at a discount of Rs 10,000. The bill matures on 31/12/2025 (12-month tenor). Date of Financial Statements: 31/3/2025.

  • Period elapsed = 3 months → Income = 10,000 × 3/12 = Rs 2,500 (recognised in P&L)
  • Unexpired period = 9 months → Deferred = 10,000 × 9/12 = Rs 7,500 (shown as 'Other Liabilities')

The entire Rs 10,000 cannot be taken as income upfront.

### Example 2

Rediscounting Example:

Bank discounts a bill and earns Rs 10,000. It then rediscounts the same bill with another bank for Rs 95,000 (paying Rs 5,000 as interest to the other bank).

  • Income earned = Rs 10,000
  • Interest paid = Rs 5,000
  • Netting off is NOT allowed. Show income and expense gross. The net benefit to the bank is Rs 5,000 but both figures must appear separately in the books.

### Example 3

Bills for Collection Example:

Raju instructs his bank to collect Rs X from Sam after 3 months. The bank acts as collecting agent.

  • Bank credits Raju's account only after it actually receives money from Sam.
  • Bank's commission income is recognised only on the date of actual collection — not when Raju submits the bill.

⚠️ Common exam mistakes

  • Recognising the entire discount on a purchased bill as income in the period of purchase — only the proportionate earned portion is income; the rest is deferred.
  • Recognising bank commission on bills for collection when the bill is received rather than when it is actually collected.
  • Netting off discount income against rediscount cost — both must be shown gross; netting is not permitted.
  • Treating advances against adequate securities (FD, NSC) the same as NPA — interest on these may be recognised on accrual/due date basis if security is adequate.
Bare-Act text Paragraph on Income Recognition — Fees, Commission and Discount on Bills · RBI Master Circular — Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning Norms (IRAC Norms) · click to expand
Income from renegotiated/rescheduled debts should be recognised over the period covered by the renegotiated or rescheduled credit. Banks should not book income on a receipt basis from advances classified as non-performing.
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