STPI approval sufficient for section 10B deduction; separate Board ratification not required, and Revenue's appeal failed.

STPI approval was treated as sufficient for claiming deduction under section 10B, and separate ratification by the Board of Approval was held unnecessary. The Tribunal relied on CBDT circulars and notifications that place STPI-approved units on par with eligible export oriented units, and followed co-ordinate bench rulings accepting such approval for section 10B relief. It also applied the principle of consistency, since the same relief had been allowed in earlier and later assessment years in the assessee's own case and had attained finality. The Revenue's appeal was dismissed.

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Issues: Whether approval granted by the Software Technology Parks of India was sufficient for claiming deduction under section 10B of the Income-tax Act, 1961 without separate ratification by the Board of Approval.

Analysis: The claim for deduction under section 10B was denied by the Assessing Officer on the footing that the STPI approval had not been ratified by the Board of Approval. The Tribunal noted that the assessee was a 100% export oriented unit registered under STPI and that the issue had already been considered in earlier and subsequent years in the assessee's own case. It also relied on the CBDT circulars and notification treating STPI-approved units at par with eligible export oriented units, and followed co-ordinate bench decisions holding that STPI approval satisfies the requirement for section 10B purposes. The Tribunal further applied the principle of consistency since identical relief had been allowed in earlier years and had attained finality.

Conclusion: STPI approval was held to be sufficient for deduction under section 10B and separate ratification by the Board of Approval was not required. The Revenue's appeal was dismissed.

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