Skill Properties Private Ltd. is in the business of real estate. It has received an amount of ₹95000/- as an advance from its customers during the course of business on which no interest is payable to its customers. Refe

Provisions of the Companies Act, 2013: As per Rule 2(1)(c)(xii) of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014 , 'deposit' does not include any amount received in the course of, or for the purposes of the business of the company: as advance, accounted for in any manner whatsoever, received in connection with consideration for an immovable property under an agreement or arrangement, provided that such advance is adjusted against such property in accordance with the terms of agreement or arrangement. as advance for supply of capital goods received under long term projects except monies received in connection with consideration for an immovable property under an agreement or arrangements. as an advance for the supply of goods or provision of services accounted for in any manner whatsoever, provided that such advance is appropriated against supply of goods or provision of services within a period of 365 days from the date of acceptance of such advance. In case, of any advance which is subject matter of any legal proceedings before any court of law, the said time limit of 365 days shall not apply. However, if the amount received above becomes refundable (with or without interest) due to the reasons that the company accepting the money does not have necessary permission or approval, wherever required, to deal in the goods or properties or services for which money is taken, then the amount received shall be deemed to be a deposit under these rules. Further, whether interest is charged or not is immaterial. Application to the given case: Skill Properties Private Ltd. is in the business of real estate and has received an amount of ₹95,000 as an advance from its customers. This advance is received during the course of business and no interest is payable on it. Conclusion: Thus, the advance of ₹95,000/- taken from customers by real estate company Skill Properties Pvt. Ltd. shall **not be considered as a deposit**, as long as it meets any one of the criteria specified in Rule 2(1)(c)(xii) of the Deposit Rules, depending upon the purpose for which the amount was paid by the customer. If the amount is not adjusted in the manner specified in the above provisions (e.g., against immovable property or services within 365 days), then it will be treated as a deposit.