Section 80P deduction barred when not claimed in the return of income under the Chapter VI-A filing condition.

Deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i) was held to be unavailable where the assessee did not file returns of income under section 139(1) for the relevant assessment years. Section 80A(5) was applied to bar any Chapter VI-A deduction that was not claimed in the return of income, and the statutory precondition for allowance was therefore not satisfied. On that basis, the disallowance of the deduction was sustained.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 despite not filing returns of income for the relevant assessment years, in view of section 80A(5) of the Act.

Analysis: The assessee had not filed returns of income under section 139(1) for the assessment years in question. Section 80A(5) provides that where a deduction under the specified provisions of Chapter VI-A is not claimed in the return of income, no deduction shall be allowed. As the statutory condition of claiming the deduction in the return was not satisfied, the allowance of deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i) was barred.

Conclusion: The deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i) was not allowable, and the assessee's challenge to the disallowance failed.

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