Section 80-IE of the Income Tax Act
Income-tax Act, 2025: s.143
Section 80-IE of the Income-tax Act, 1961 corresponds to section 143 (Special provisions in respect of certain undertakings in North-Eastern States) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Read section 143 of the 2025 Act
Correspondence checked against the ICAI tabular mapping of the two Acts and the BharatTax.co section commentary.
The decision most relied on for Section 80-IE is Apex Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. v. CIT (135 Taxmann.com 286), cited in 148 of the 45 judgments on BharatTax that turn on this section.
Leading authorities on Section 80-IE
Expenditure incurred by pharmaceutical companies on freebies provided to medical practitioners is not deductible under Explanation 1 to Section 37(1) of the Income-tax Act, as such gifting is prohibited by the Medical Council Regulations, 2002. The court also held that what is directly prohibited by law cannot be indirectly evaded through contrivance.
A fiscal statute must be interpreted strictly based on its plain language, without substituting judicial impressions for legislative intent. Exemptions and exclusions within such statutes must also be construed strictly and cannot be extended through interpretation.
When interpreting fiscal legislation, courts must adhere strictly to the plain and unambiguous language of the statute, without introducing intendment, equity, or words not present in the text, irrespective of perceived hardship. The legislative intent must be gathered solely from what has been said and not said in the statutory language.
The computation provisions for long-term capital gains, including the benefit of indexation under sections 45, 48, and 112, are applicable when determining book profits under section 115JB(5) for Minimum Alternate Tax, unless explicitly overridden, ensuring the 'real income' is taxed.
A trust substantially satisfying the conditions for exemption under Section 11 cannot be denied that exemption solely due to a procedural delay in furnishing the audit report in Form No. 10, as the submission of the form is considered a procedural rather than a mandatory condition.
Taxing statutes must be strictly construed, and their clear language does not allow for inference or equity. Exemptions and exclusions must also be strictly construed and cannot be extended by interpretation.
Where the statutory language is plain and unambiguous, external aids like precedents cannot be used to obscure or rewrite the legislative command.
Exemption for a charitable trust under sections 11/12 cannot be denied solely due to the delayed filing of the audit report in Form No. 10B, provided all other conditions for exemption have been substantially met.
The expression 'any income' in Section 10(38) refers to long-term capital gains computed under Section 48, which includes the indexed cost of acquisition. This principle applies when computing book profits under Section 115JB.
