Statutory exemption for agricultural market committee upheld where factual basis remained unrebutted and reassessment additions were deleted.

The assessee, an agricultural produce market committee constituted under the Orissa Agricultural Produce Market Act, 1956, was held entitled to exemption under section 10(26AAB) because the factual foundation for the exemption had been recorded by the first appellate authority and the Revenue did not displace it. The record also showed technical difficulty in replying to assessment notices, which had been noticed below and was not effectively controverted. On that basis, the deletion of the reassessment additions was upheld and the Revenue appeal failed.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to exemption under section 10(26AAB) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and whether the additions made in the reassessment deserved to be restored.

Analysis: The assessee was found to be an agricultural produce market committee constituted under the Orissa Agricultural Produce Market Act, 1956 for regulating the marketing of agricultural produce, and the appellate finding granting exemption under section 10(26AAB) was not displaced by the Revenue. The record also showed that the assessee had faced technical difficulty in responding to the assessment notices, a fact noticed by the first appellate authority and not effectively controverted.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to the exemption, and the deletion of the additions was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: When the factual foundation for a statutory exemption is recorded by the first appellate authority and remains unrebutted, interference in the Revenue appeal is unwarranted.

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