Tribunal allows Assessee's appeal on section 80IB(10) deductions for assessment years 2005-06 & 2006-07

The Tribunal dismissed the Revenue Department's appeal and allowed the Assessee's appeal regarding the disallowance of deductions under section 80IB(10) for assessment years 2005-06 and 2006-07. The Tribunal found that the Assessing Officer correctly verified completion certificates during the remand proceedings, leading to the allowance of the deduction based on this verification. The decision was supported by previous cases emphasizing the importance of verifying completion certificates on a test-check basis, ultimately resulting in the dismissal of the Revenue's appeal due to lack of merit in their contentions.

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Issues:
- Disallowance of deduction u/s. 80IB(10) for assessment years 2005-06 and 2006-07.
- Verification of completion certificates by Assessing Officer.
- Appeal by Revenue Department against the order allowing deduction.
- Appeal by Assessee challenging disallowance of deduction.

Analysis:
1. The appeals by the Revenue Department and Assessee were against the orders of the Commissioner of Income-tax for assessment years 2005-06 and 2006-07 under section 250(6) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, regarding the disallowance of deduction u/s. 80IB(10) for eligible projects.

2. The Revenue Department contended that completion certificates were not produced during assessment and appellate proceedings, leading to the disallowance of the deduction. However, the Commissioner directed the Assessing Officer to allow the claim based on a remand report verifying completion certificates for residential units with built-up areas less than 1000 square feet.

3. The Revenue Department argued that the correctness and genuineness of completion certificates were not adequately verified, and conditions for eligibility under section 80IB(10) were not discussed by the Commissioner, leading to the appeal.

4. The Tribunal referred to a similar case for the assessment year 2004-05 where the Commissioner's decision to allow the deduction was upheld, emphasizing the importance of verifying completion certificates on a test-check basis.

5. The Tribunal found that the Assessing Officer correctly verified completion certificates in the remand proceedings and allowed the deduction based on this verification, dismissing the Revenue's appeal due to lack of merit in their contentions.

6. In the appeal by the Assessee for assessment year 2006-07, the Tribunal noted that completion certificates were verified on a test-check basis and found in order, leading to the allowance of the deduction under section 80IB(10) as the facts were similar to previous cases.

7. Consequently, the Tribunal dismissed the Revenue Department's appeal and allowed the Assessee's appeal regarding the disallowance of deductions under section 80IB(10) for the respective assessment years.

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