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2008 (10) TMI 589 - AT - Income TaxEntitlement for exemption u/s 80IB(10) - flats having area measured less than 1500 sq. ft. - AO denied to allow the deduction because the housing project comprised residential units exceeding 1500 sq. ft. - CIT(A) allowed the deduction u/s 80-IB(10) in respect of the residential units with an area of less than 1500 sq. ft. - It was argued on behalf of the assessee that each block of residential units covered by a plan has to be considered as a separate project and deduction is to be allowed on that basis. HELD THAT:- For enabling the benefit of section 80-IB it is necessary that profits must be derived in the previous year from housing project. The eligibility conditions include, inter alia, that the built-up area should not exceed 1500 sq. ft. in the context of cities other than Delhi and Mumbai. This restriction is applicable to the entire project. If some of the residential units of the project comprised area exceeding the prescribed limit, the benefit as per the language of the section cannot be extended to the project. The language employed in a statute is the determinative factor of the legislative intent. The first and primary rule of construction is that the intention of the legislation must be found in the words used by the Legislature itself. The same view is expressed in the case of Britannia Industries Ltd. v. CIT [2005 (10) TMI 30 - SUPREME COURT]. In this case the hon'ble apex court has held that when the language of a statute is clear and unambiguous, the courts are to interpret the same in its literal sense and not to give a meaning which would cause violence to the provisions of the statute. The term "project" is nomen generalissimum : It is a term of the most general meaning. It connotes a proposal for undertaking or a scheme for something to be done. The assessee did formulate four such schemes, namely, Agrini, Vajra, Porkudam Phase-I and Phase-II. These four schemes as such were approved by the local authority. A project cannot be approved in piecemeal. Approval is accorded to the entire project. Blocks of residential units are parts of a project and not project by itself. As such a block of residential units cannot be construed to be a separate project. It is therefore evident that the assessee did not comply with the conditions precedent for availing the benefit of section 80-IB(10). We, therefore, reverse the order of the CIT (A) and restore the order of the AO on this count. In the result, the appeal of the Revenue stands allowed.
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