S. 80IB Deduction available even if Form 10CCB Audit Report is filed before Completion of Assessment: ITAT [Read Order]

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Kolkata bench has held that the benefit of Section 80IB of the Income Tax Act is available to the assessee even if the audit report in Form 10CCB is not filed with the return. The division bench, based on the Apex Ruling in CIT vs. G. M Knitting Industries Pvt. Ltd, clarified that the form can be submitted any time before the completion of the assessment.

The Revenue approached the Tribunal aggrieved by the order of the first appellate authority who allowed arrears Section 80IB and 80IC deduction claims totalling to Rs. 1,39,48,12,000/- the assessee. Earlier, the benefit was denied to the assessee for the reason that the taxpayer had not submitted its form 10CCB auditor’s report in respect of the corresponding revised claim.

The Tribunal noted that the first appellate authority has merely directed the Assessing Officer to consider the impugned deduction claim in light of his findings on the very issue in preceding the assessment year 2005-06.

“Both the learned representatives are very fair in taking as to this tribunal co-ordinate bench order dated 06.01.2017 upholding identical lower appellate finding in the very issue in Revenue’s appeal in I.T.A. No. 33/Kol/2010. Honourable apex court’s decision in CIT vs. G. M Knitting Industries Pvt. Ltd. and Another [2015] 125 DTR 38 (SC) has already settled the law that an assessee is entitled to Section 80IB deduction even if it files its form 10CCB audit report not with the return but before completion of the assessment. This is not the Revenue’s case that the assessee’s audit report has escaped the Assessing Officer consideration during the assessment. There is no distinction on facts or law involved in the two assessment years,” the Tribunal said.