In Brief
Mahabir Industries, a polythene manufacturer in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, claimed income tax deductions under Sections 80-IA, 80-IB, and 80-IC across different assessment years. After completing substantial expansion in 2006-07, it sought deductions under Section 80-IC for 2008-09 and 2009-10. The authorities rejected these, counting all prior years under Section 80-IA and 80-IB towards the ten-year limit in Section 80-IC(6). The High Court upheld this. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that Section 80-IC(6)'s ten-year ceiling only applies to North-Eastern Region units under the second proviso to Section 80-IB(4). For non-North-Eastern units, prior deductions under Section 80-IA/80-IB should not be counted. The Court allowed the appeal, entitling the assessee to deductions for the disputed years.
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