Tribunal Upholds Deduction under Section 80IA: Revenue Appeal Dismissed

The Tribunal upheld the allowance of deduction under section 80IA of the Income Tax Act, emphasizing the minor delay in filing the return and the absence of a direct decision of the Jurisdictional High Court. The appeal of the Revenue and the Cross Objection filed by the Assessee were dismissed, with the Tribunal directing the placement of the order in all relevant case files.

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Issues Involved:
1. Disallowance of deduction claimed under section 80IA of the Income Tax Act due to late filing of return.
2. Validity of reopening the assessment under section 147 of the Income Tax Act.

Analysis:

Issue 1: Disallowance of deduction claimed under section 80IA:
The appeal filed by the Revenue and the Cross Objection filed by the Assessee revolve around the disallowance made by the Assessing Officer of Rs.18,93,63,796/- on account of deduction claimed under section 80IA of the Income Tax Act. The Assessee, a private limited company, filed its return of income for A.Y. 2012-13 after the specified due date under section 139(1) of the Act. The Assessing Officer disallowed the deduction citing section 80AC of the Act, which rendered the Assessee ineligible for the deduction. The Assessee contended that the late filing should not bar the deduction, citing various judicial pronouncements. The ld. CIT(A) allowed the deduction under section 80IA, considering divergent views and the absence of a direct decision of the Jurisdictional High Court. The Revenue appealed, arguing that the late filing disentitles the Assessee from claiming the deduction.

Issue 2: Validity of reopening the assessment under section 147:
The Assessee raised Cross Objections challenging the reopening of the assessment under section 147 of the Income Tax Act. The Assessee contended that the Assessing Officer erred in reopening the assessment and passing the reassessment order. However, since the appeal of the Revenue was dismissed, the Cross Objection became infructuous, and the Tribunal did not adjudicate on this issue.

In conclusion, the Tribunal upheld the order of the ld. CIT(A) regarding the allowance of deduction under section 80IA, emphasizing the minor delay in filing the return and the absence of a direct decision of the Jurisdictional High Court. The Tribunal dismissed the appeal of the Revenue and the Cross Objection filed by the Assessee, directing the placement of the order in all relevant case files.

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