Wrong clause in return cannot defeat an otherwise allowable section 80P deduction where substantive conditions are met.

ITAT Nagpur held that a deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i) could not be denied merely because the assessee mentioned the wrong clause in the return of income. The substantive claim was supported by the audit report, and the record showed no failure to satisfy the statutory conditions for the deduction. Consistent treatment in earlier and later assessment years on identical facts also supported the claim. A technical error in the return did not override an otherwise allowable deduction, and the disallowance was unsustainable.

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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 an incorrect selection of the relevant clause in the return of income.

Analysis: The assessee had claimed deduction under section 80P in the return and the audit report certified the admissibility of the claim. The denial was based only on wrong mention of the relevant clause in the return, not on any failure to satisfy the substantive conditions for deduction. The claim had also been accepted in earlier and subsequent assessment years on identical facts. Mere incorrect mention of the section in the return could not defeat an otherwise allowable deduction.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i), and the denial of the claim for technical error in the return was unsustainable.

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