Section 80P deduction requires a valid return filed on time; belated claims cannot be entertained

Deduction under section 80P cannot be entertained where the claim is made in a return filed beyond the prescribed due date and no valid return is furnished in response to the Assessing Officer's notice. Applying the statutory scheme in sections 80A(5) and 80AC, and noting the post-1 April 2018 requirement that the return be filed on or before the due date under section 139(1), the Tribunal treated a non est return as incapable of sustaining the deduction claim. The denial of section 80P relief was upheld.

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Issues: Whether deduction under section 80P of the Income-tax Act, 1961 could be denied on the ground that no valid return of income was filed within the time prescribed by the Act.

Analysis: The assessee had claimed deduction under section 80P in a return filed beyond the permissible time and had also not filed a valid return in response to the notice issued by the Assessing Officer. The Tribunal applied the statutory scheme under sections 80A(5) and 80AC, which requires a deduction claim to be made in a valid return of income, and noted that after the amendment effective from 1 April 2018 the return must be furnished on or before the due date under section 139(1). Relying on the binding jurisdictional High Court decision, the Tribunal held that a claim under section 80P cannot be entertained where the return is non est and not filed within the prescribed time.

Conclusion: The assessee was not entitled to deduction under section 80P, and the denial of the claim was upheld.

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