9911796707
TMI Blog2015 (10) TMI 530X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the first occasion of approval of the project was on 10.07.1997 and hence the construction of the project should be considered as commenced by that date, i.e., before the prescribed date of 01.10.1998 and the same has resulted in violation of clause (a) of 80IB(10) which provides that the commencement of housing project should be on or after 1st October, 1998. 3. The facts relating to the above said issue are stated in brief. The assessee is engaged in real estate development and during the year under consideration, it claimed deduction u/s 80IB of the Act for a sum of Rs. 16,17,43,281/- in respect of sale of flats of buildings numbered as T-34, T-35, T-36 & T-37. The AO noticed that the deduction claimed u/s 80IB(10) in the earlier years ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hat the relevant project started after 30-04-1999. The assessee submitted that the NOCs were obtained from Chief Fire Officer on 27-06-2001 and 13.3.2003. It was further submitted that the construction cannot be commenced prior to obtaining the above said NOC. Since additional evidences were filed before him for the first time, the Ld CIT(A) called for a remand report from the AO in respect of the additional evidences. The assessing officer made necessary enquiries with the Chief Fire Officer to clarify his doubts and later furnished his remand report dated 15.12.2010, wherein the AO admitted that the NOCs were obtained well after the cut off date of 1.10.1998 and accordingly opined that the construction appears to have started around the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... day of March, 2005 and the development and construction should commence on or after 1st day of October, 1998. Thus, the Statute prescribes two different time limits, viz.., one for approval and another one for commencement of project. We have earlier noticed that the assessing officer has placed reliance on the following Explanation given in sec. 80IB(10) of the Act:- "(i) in a case where the approval in respect of the housing project is obtained more than once, such housing project shall be deemed to have been approved on the date on which the building plan of such housing project is first approved by the local authority." The assessing officer has interpreted the purpose of the above said Explanation as under:- "By the help of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in our view, the assessing officer was not correct in observing that the date of commencement is to be taken as the date of approval. We have already noticed that the assessee had filed copies of NOC obtained from the Chief Fire officer before the Ld CIT(A) and the same were confronted with the assessing officer. During the course of remand proceedings, the assessing officer has made necessary enquiries with the Fire department and has come to know of the fact that the construction could not be commenced without obtaining the NOC from the Chief fire Officer. Accordingly, the assessing officer has expressed the following view in the remand report:- "....From the perusal of the contents of the letter of CFO, it appears that the NOCs a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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