Deduction under section 80-JJAA denied where claim was not made in the return and Form 10DA was filed belatedly.

Deduction under section 80-JJAA was disallowed where the assessee did not claim the Chapter VIA deduction in the original return and the mandatory Form 10DA was filed belatedly after filing. The tribunal applied the statutory bar in section 80A(5) to deny allowance of Chapter VIA deductions not claimed in the return; absence of contemporaneous filing or claim before the assessing officer rendered the procedural prerequisite unsatisfied and the appeal failed on that ground.

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Issues: Whether deduction under section 80-JJAA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in respect of additional employee cost can be allowed where the deduction was not claimed in the original return and the required Form 10DA was filed belatedly for the assessment year 2018-19.

Analysis: The appeal concerns a single substantive claim for deduction under section 80-JJAA, first raised before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) though not made in the original return. The assessee furnished a Chartered Accountant's report in Form 10DA dated 30.10.2019 after filing the return. The assessment proceedings were completed by order dated 29.01.2021 and there was no contemporaneous claim or filing of Form 10DA before the assessing officer during the assessment. Section 80A(5) bars allowance of deductions under the Chapter-VIA heading "C.-Deductions in respect of certain incomes" where the assessee fails to make the claim in the return of income. The facts show the claim under section 80-JJAA (a Chapter-VIA deduction) was not made in the return and was raised for the first time on appeal, and the procedural/formal requirement in relation to Form 10DA was not complied with within the prescribed time before the assessing officer.

Conclusion: The claim for deduction under section 80-JJAA is not allowable; conclusion against the assessee.

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