Tribunal Grants Deduction under Income Tax Act, Upholds Appellant's Rights

The Tribunal allowed the appeals, directing the Assessing Officer to grant the deduction under section 10B of the Income Tax Act for the assessment years 2009-10 & 2010-11. The Tribunal upheld the appellant's grievance regarding opportunity of hearing and ex parte order, citing a co-ordinate bench's decision. Additionally, it found in favor of the appellant on the issues of reopening of assessment under section 147 and disallowance of exemption under section 10B, following the jurisdictional High Court's findings.

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Issues involved:
Challenge to correctness of the order passed by CIT(A) in the matter of assessment under section 143(3) r.w.s. 147 for the assessment years 2009-10 & 2010-11.

Analysis:

1. Issue 1: Opportunity of hearing and ex parte order
The appellant challenged the order of CIT(A) for not affording an opportunity of hearing and passing an ex parte order despite the adjournment application. The Tribunal noted that the order was ex-parte, and the appellant could not attend the proceedings. However, the issue in appeal was found to be covered in favor of the assessee by a co-ordinate bench's decision in the assessee's own case for the assessment year 2008-09. The Tribunal upheld the appellant's grievance and directed the Assessing Officer to allow the claim of deduction under section 10B of the Act for both assessment years under appeal.

2. Issue 2: Reopening of assessment under section 147
The appellant contested the action of the Assessing Officer in reopening the assessment under section 147 of the Act. The Tribunal referred to the circular regarding deduction under section 10B of the Income Tax Act, which clarified the validity of approvals given by Development Commissioners. Citing a similar case before the jurisdictional High Court of Gujarat, the Tribunal found that once the approval granted by the Development Commissioner is ratified by the Board of Approval, it relates back to the date of the original approval. Consequently, the Tribunal directed the Assessing Officer to allow the claim of deduction under section 10B of the Act for both assessment years.

3. Issue 3: Disallowance of exemption under section 10B
The appellant challenged the disallowance of exemption under section 10B of the Act by the Assessing Officer. The Tribunal, following the findings of the jurisdictional High Court of Gujarat, set aside the CIT(A)'s decision and directed the Assessing Officer to allow the claim of deduction under section 10B for the appellant.

In conclusion, the Tribunal allowed the appeals, citing the co-ordinate bench's decision and the jurisdictional High Court's findings, directing the Assessing Officer to grant the deduction under section 10B of the Income Tax Act for the assessment years in question.

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