Housing-project deduction depends on actual development and control, not formal land title, under section 80IB(10).

Deduction under section 80IB(10) was available where the assessee had actually developed and built the housing project with dominant control, incurred the project costs, obtained possession, marketed the units, and bore the business risk. Formal ownership of the land was not treated as a statutory precondition, and the fact that the approvals and land records stood in the name of the societies did not defeat the claim. The Tribunal also noted that an undertaking is not excluded merely because it is described as a contractor, and relied on dominion over property and part-performance principles under section 2(47)(v) of the Income-tax Act read with section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act. The housing-project deduction was allowed.

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Issues: Whether the assessee, engaged in development of housing projects, was entitled to deduction under section 80IB(10) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 though the land stood in the name of the societies and the approvals were not in the assessee's name.

Analysis: The claim was tested against the statutory requirements of section 80IB(10), namely development and construction of an approved housing project, prescribed plot size, stipulated residential unit area, and completion within the relevant time. The materials on record showed that the assessee had entered into development agreements and agreements to sell, bore the costs of permissions and construction, obtained possession, controlled the project, marketed and received sale consideration, and assumed the business risks. The Tribunal reiterated that ownership of the land is not a statutory precondition for the deduction and that an undertaking developing and building a housing project is not disqualified merely because it is also described as a contractor. The decision was also supported by the principle of dominion over property and the applicability of part-performance concepts under section 2(47)(v) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 read with section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to deduction under section 80IB(10) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and the Revenue's appeals failed.

Final Conclusion: The Tribunal affirmed the allowance of the housing-project deduction and dismissed all departmental appeals.

Ratio Decidendi: For section 80IB(10), the decisive test is whether the assessee actually developed and built the housing project with dominant control and risk, not whether it held formal title to the land.

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