Section 10AA deduction cannot be denied for delayed return filing where the disabling proviso was not yet in force.

Deduction under section 10AA could not be denied for assessment year 2018-19 merely because the return was filed after the due date under section 139(1), since the proviso linking the deduction to timely filing was inserted only by the Finance Act, 2023 with effect from 01.04.2024. For the relevant year, no statutory bar existed to reject the claim on that ground, and the exemption provision could not be defeated by a condition not then in force. The deduction was therefore admissible for the year under consideration.

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Issues: Whether deduction under section 10AA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 could be denied for assessment year 2018-19 on the ground that the return of income was not filed within the due date under section 139(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: The Tribunal followed its earlier order in the assessee's own case and noted that the proviso linking deduction under section 10AA to filing of the return within the due date under section 139(1) was inserted only by the Finance Act, 2023 with effect from 01.04.2024. For the relevant assessment year, there was no statutory mandate denying the deduction on account of delay in filing the return. The exemption provision was construed strictly, but in the absence of a specific disabling provision for the year in question, the claim could not be rejected.

Conclusion: The denial of deduction under section 10AA for delayed filing of the return was unsustainable, and the deduction was admissible for the assessment year under consideration.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and the assessee obtained relief by being allowed the deduction claimed under section 10AA.

Ratio Decidendi: In the absence of an applicable statutory restriction for the relevant assessment year, deduction under section 10AA cannot be denied merely because the return of income was filed after the due date under section 139(1).

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