CIT Vs. ANSAL HOUSING AND CONSTRUCTION LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE brief facts are that the appellant commenced development and construction development and construction of housing projects, somewhere in NOIDA, and claimed that it had started development and constructions of housing projects in NOIDA after 13.09.1998. The Assessing Officer was of the opinion that the materials on record did not justify granting the appellant the benefit of Section 80IB in view of the language of Section 80 ID (10). The Assessing Officer, therefore, made a disallowance in respect of years 1999-2000, 2002-03 and 2003-04. The assessee carried the matter in appeal successfully. In the meanwhile, in respect of the intervened assessment years 2000-01, 2001-02, the Assessing Officer appears to have accepted the assessee' contentions. These led to an action under Section 203 by the Commissioner who invoked its revisional powers. Eventually, that culminated in a common order dated 12.06.2009 of the ITAT itself. The relevant observations of the ITAT upholding the assessee's contentions which have been noticed in the impugned orders in these cases are extracted below: -

(2.) THE Revenue carried the matter further in appeal to this Court in respect of the said years 2000-01 and 2001-2002 by preferring ITA 480/2010, 485/2010 and 437/2011. By a judgment dated 24.09.2012, the Revenue's contentions were rejected both as to the findings of the Tribunal with regard to the tenability of invocation of Section 263 as well as the merits. This is evident from the following extract of the judgment of this Court for the said years dated 24.09.2012:

(3.) SO far as the point no.2, i.e., whether the respondents could have been assessed on the basis of ALV of the unsold flats, the Court is of the view that in a previous decision dated 31.10.2012 passed in ITA 18/1999 and connected matters - CIT v. Ansal Housing Leasing Finance Ltd., the Court relying upon previous decision of the Supreme Court answered an identical question of law in favour of the Revenue holding that the assessee could have been assessed on the basis of ALV of the unsold flats. This question - which arises in ITA 215/2012 for assessment year 2003-04 is accordingly answered in favour of the Revenue and against the assessee.