Statutory deduction may be claimed in reassessment despite omission in original assessment, subject to legal entitlement.

An assessee may raise a claim for an otherwise admissible statutory deduction in reassessment proceedings even if the claim was omitted from the original assessment. The Calcutta HC held that entitlement to relief under sections 80J and 80-I was not lost merely because no claim had been made earlier, and that section 80AA did not govern or defeat those deductions. The assessee was therefore not barred from claiming the deduction in reassessment, and the reference was answered in its favour.

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Issues: Whether, in reassessment proceedings, the assessee was precluded from claiming deduction under section 80J of the Income-tax Act, 1961, merely because no such claim had been made at the time of the original assessment.

Analysis: The reference concerned the assessee's entitlement to seek relief under sections 80J and 80-I during reassessment proceedings. The court held that a claim for statutory benefit may be raised in reassessment if the assessee is otherwise entitled to it, even though it was not claimed in the original assessment. It further held that section 80AA did not govern deductions under sections 80J and 80-I, and therefore did not defeat the assessee's claim.

Conclusion: The assessee was not barred from claiming the deduction in reassessment proceedings, and the question was answered in the affirmative in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: An assessee may claim an admissible statutory deduction in reassessment proceedings notwithstanding the omission to claim it in the original assessment, where the deduction is otherwise legally available.

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