Section 10AA deduction cannot be denied for filing the wrong form when substantive eligibility is otherwise satisfied.

Deduction under section 10AA of the Income-tax Act could not be denied merely because the assessee filed Form 56G instead of Form 56F, where substantive eligibility was otherwise satisfied. The wrong form was treated as a procedural defect, and the assessee was entitled to cure it by submitting the corrected form together with the audited books. The entitlement to the deduction was not disputed on merits, and the later year's claim was also supported by the binding Supreme Court decision referred to in the order. The operative principle is that compliance with statutory conditions matters, but a rectifiable filing error should not defeat an otherwise valid section 10AA claim.

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Issues: Whether deduction under section 10AA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 could be denied merely because Form 56G was filed instead of Form 56F, where the assessee was otherwise eligible and had complied with the substantive conditions for the claim.

Analysis: The assessee's filing of Form 56G instead of Form 56F was treated as a procedural mistake. The entitlement to deduction under section 10AA was not disputed on merits, and the defect was held to be rectifiable by filing the corrected form along with the audited books. For the later assessment year, the claim was also supported by the binding Supreme Court decision relied upon in the order.

Conclusion: The deduction claim under section 10AA could not be denied solely for the wrong form, and the assessee was entitled to have the procedural defect cured and the claim allowed if the statutory conditions were satisfied.

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