Section 80IB(10) housing project deduction sustained where documentary evidence and inspection reports supported eligibility despite technical objections.

Deduction under section 80IB(10) was discussed in relation to housing projects where the Revenue questioned the commencement date, completion and occupancy certificates, the presence of row houses in one project, and use of a consolidated audit report. The analysis notes that earlier assessments had accepted the claim and related revisionary orders had been quashed in the assessee's own case for prior years. On the project records and Inspector's reports, actual construction, completion documentation, and occupancy evidence were treated as satisfactory, while the row-house objection did not affect the specific buildings claimed. The absence of separate audit reports was treated as a curable procedural defect, so deduction could not be denied on technical objections alone.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to deduction under section 80IB(10) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for the housing projects in question despite objections regarding the date of commencement, completion or occupancy certificates, the existence of row houses in one project, and the filing of a consolidated audit report instead of separate reports.

Analysis: The claim for deduction had already been accepted in the original assessments and the revisionary orders under section 263 had been quashed in the assessee's own case for earlier assessment years. The factual objections raised by the Revenue were examined against the Inspector's reports and the project records, which showed that actual construction commenced on the relevant dates, that completion and occupancy documentation existed, and that the objection regarding row houses did not defeat the claim for the specific buildings on which deduction was sought. The requirement of separate audit reports was treated as a procedural defect that could be complied with, and in the later year the claim was upheld subject to verification of the project-wise certificates and reports.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to deduction under section 80IB(10), and the Revenue's objections were rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the factual conditions for section 80IB(10) are supported by inspection and documentary evidence, and a procedural defect in audit reporting is curable, deduction cannot be denied on technical objections alone.

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