Section 80IB(10) deduction claim remanded for fresh factual verification on project completion and developer status.

Eligibility for deduction under section 80IB(10) depended on whether the housing project was completed within the prescribed time and whether the assessee functioned as a developer or merely as a contractor after selling plots to buyers. The record raised competing factual questions about the effect of registered sale deeds, the buyer agreements, proof of completion, and the pending Phase-II dispute. Because the supporting material required verification and the factual basis for denial needed reconsideration, the matter was remanded for fresh adjudication and no final finding on deduction entitlement was returned.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to deduction under section 80IB(10) in respect of the housing project, including the claim that Phase-I was a stand-alone completed project and that the assessee was a developer rather than a contractor.

Analysis: The claim for deduction turned on whether the project, as approved by the local authority, had been completed within the prescribed time and whether the assessee had merely acted as a contractor after selling the plots to individual buyers. The record showed competing factual positions on the effect of the registered sale deeds, the nature of the agreements with buyers, the availability of completion evidence, and the impact of the pending dispute relating to Phase-II. In these circumstances, the matter required verification of the supporting material and reconsideration of the factual basis on which the deduction had been denied.

Conclusion: No final finding on eligibility for deduction under section 80IB(10) was returned, and the matter was sent back for fresh adjudication.

Final Conclusion: The assessee obtained only a remand for reconsideration of the deduction claim, and the substantive entitlement remained open for determination by the Assessing Officer.

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