Notification No. 15/2015 [F.No.203/30/2014/ITA.II]

Section 35CCC of the Income-tax Act, 1961 - Expenditure on Agricultural Extension Project - Notified Eligible Agricultural Extension Project - Godrej Agrovet Limited - Animal Feed Extension Project

What this is

Notification No. 15/2015 [F.No.203/30/2014/ITA.II] was published on 16 February 2015. Its subject is Section 35CCC of the Income-tax Act, 1961 - Expenditure on Agricultural Extension Project - Notified Eligible Agricultural Extension Project - Godrej Agrovet Limited - Animal Feed Extension Project.

What it does

The notification approves, under sub-section (1) of section 35CCC of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the agricultural extension project titled "Animal Feed Extension Project" of Godrej Agrovet Limited, Pirojshanagar, Eastern Express Highway, Vikroli (East), Mumbai-400079 (PAN AAACG0617Q), and is set out in Form No. 3CP. The project's purpose is the sharing of information among farmers on cattle and poultry health management and with veterinary experts, and it is described as an ongoing project already commenced, approval taking effect only from the date of issue of the formal notification. It is notified from that date till assessment year 2016-17, with no amount to be charged from any beneficiary. Conditions are imposed: separate books of account for the project audited by an accountant as defined in the Explanation below sub-section (2) of section 288; an audit report commenting on the true and fair view of the accounts, the genuineness of the activities and fulfilment of the conditions in the Act, the rules or the notification issued under sub-rule (6) or sub-rule (9) of rule 6AAD; a bar on accepting any amount from beneficiaries for training, education, guidance or material; a bar on any direct or indirect benefit to the approved entity beyond the deduction itself; eligibility only for expenses other than the cost of land or building, reduced by amounts received from beneficiaries, incurred wholly and exclusively for the project, with a proviso excluding any expenditure reimbursed or reimbursable by any person; a bar on claiming the same expenditure under any other provision for the same or any other assessment year; and filing with the Commissioner or Director of Income-tax, on or before the due date under sub-section (1) of section 139, of the audited statement of accounts with the audit report and the deduction claimed, a note on the project undertaken and proposed with its financial allocation, and a certificate from the Ministry of Agriculture on the genuineness of the project. Only product neutral training may be given under the project.

Who it reaches

Godrej Agrovet Limited as the approved entity
farmers receiving cattle and poultry health management training
the accountant auditing the project accounts
the Commissioner or Director of Income-tax receiving the annual filing
the Ministry of Agriculture issuing the genuineness certificate

The provisions it speaks to

Left, the provision of the Income-tax Act, 1961 as the instrument itself names it. Right, the section of the Income-tax Act, 2025 that the department’s own concordance maps it to — which is where the same ground is now covered.

Under the 1961 Act	Now
s.35CC	no counterpart recorded
s.35CCC	s.47
s.288	s.515

The instrument, as the Board published it

The words below are the department’s own, reproduced from its published text. Where the department’s copy carried a publisher’s notes after the instrument, those are not reproduced.

SECTION 35CCC OF THE INCOME-TAX ACT, 1961 - EXPENDITURE ON AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROJECT - NOTIFIED ELIGIBLE AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROJECT - GODREJ AGROVET LIMITED - ANIMAL FEED EXTENSION PROJECT
NOTIFICATION NO. 15/2015 [F.NO.203/30/2014/ITA.II], DATED 16-2-2015
FORM NO. 3CP

1.
Name, address and PAN of the applicant
Godrej Agrovet Limited, Pirojshanagar, Eastern Express Highway, Vikroli (East), Mumbai-400079 (AAACG0617Q)

2.
Title of the agricultural extension project
Animal Feed Extension Project

3.
Purpose of the agricultural extension project
Sharing of information among farmers in relation to cattle and poultry health management and with veterinary experts.

4.
Reference No. and date of the application
F.No. 203/30/2014-ITA.II received on 14.01.2015

5.
Date of commencement of the agricultural extension project
Already commenced. However, approval shall be effective from the date of issue of this formal Notification u/s 35CCC of the IT. Act.

6.
Duration of the agricultural extension project in months
Ongoing project.

7.
Assessment year(s) for which the agricultural extension project is being notified (not exceeding three years)
From date of formal issue of Notification till A.Y. 2016-17.

8.
Total expenses likely to be incurred for the agricultural extension project (other than cost of land or building)
For A.Yr's 2014-2015 and 2015-16 (applicant has claimed expenses of Rs, 2,07,00,000/- for each year. However, as project is being accorded approval from subsequent date in the F.Yr. 2014-2015, the expected expenditure for the relevant period would be much lesser, as far as F.Yr. 2013-2014 is concerned, no claim u/s 35CCC shall be allowed) while for A.Y. 2016-17, likely expenditure is Rs. 10,82,00,000/-.

9.
Amount, if any, to be charged from each beneficiary of agricultural extension project.
NIL

10. Conditions subject to which agricultural extension project titled 'Animal Feeds Extension Project' is being notified are as under:

i.

The approved entity undertaking agricultural extension project shall maintain separate books of account of the agricultural extension project notified under sub-section (1) of section 35CCC, and get such books of account audited by an accountant as defined in the Explanation below sub-section (2) of section 288.

ii.

The audit report referred to in sub-rule (1) shall include the comments of the auditor on the true and fair view of the books of account maintained for agricultural extension project, the genuineness of the activities of the agricultural extension project and fulfilment of the conditions specified in the relevant provisions of the Act or the rules Or the conditions mentioned in the notification issued under sub-rule (6) or sub-rule (9) of rule 6AAD.

iii.

The approved entity shall not accept any amount from the beneficiary under the eligible agricultural extension project for training, education, guidance or any material distributed for the purposes of such training, education or guidance.

vi.

The approved entity shall not get any direct or indirect benefit from the notified agricultural extension project except the deduction of the eligible expenditure in accordance with the provisions of section 35CCC of the Act, rule 6AAD and this rule.

v.

All expenses (not being expenditure in the nature of cost of any land or building), as reduced by the amount received from beneficiary, if any, incurred wholly and exclusively for undertaking an eligible agricultural extension project shall be eligible for deduction under section 35CCC:

Provided that any expenditure incurred on the agricultural extension project which is reimbursed or reimbursable to the assessee by any person, whether directly or indirectly, shall not be eligible for deduction under section 35CCC.

vi.

Where a deduction under this section 35CC of the Act is claimed and allowed for any assessment year, deduction shall not be allowed in respect of such expenditure under any other provisions of the Act for the same or any other assessment year.

vii.

The approved entity shall, on or before the due date of furnishing the return of income under sub-section (1) of section 139, furnish the following to the Commissioner of Income-tax or the Director of Income-tax, as the case may be, namely:—

(a)

the audited statement of accounts of the agricultural extension projects for the previous year along with the audit report and amount of deduction claimed under sub-section (1) of section 35CCC;

(b)

a note on the agricultural extension project undertaken by it during the previous year and the programme of agricultural extension project to be undertaken during the current year and the financial allocation for such programme; and

(c)

a certificate from the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, regarding the genuineness of the agricultural extension project undertaken by the assessee during the previous year.

viii.

Under the project only product neutral training will be given except a short session on company's profile and products.

11. The Central Board of Direct Taxes shall withdraw the approval if the approved entity:—

(a)

has ceased its activities; or

(b)

its activities are not genuine; or

(c)

its activities are not being carried out in accordance with all or any of the relevant provisions of the Act or Rules; or

(d)

its activities are not being carried out in accordance with all or any of the conditions subject to which the notification is being issued.

■■

What it changes

The rule numbers are the 1962 Rules’ own, as the notification names them. The right-hand column is the department’s own mapping into the Income-tax Rules, 2026, which renumbered nearly everything.

Rule of the 1962 Rules	Now, in the 2026 Rules
Rule 6AAD	rule 37

Forms it touches. Form No. 3CP

From when

the date of issue of the formal notification, and running till assessment year 2016-17.

What to watch

Approval runs from the date of issue of the formal notification, so expenditure before that date is outside it; no claim under section 35CCC is allowed for financial year 2013-14.
The notification runs only up to assessment year 2016-17, the statutory outer limit of three years.
Nothing may be charged to a beneficiary for training, education, guidance or the material distributed for it.
Expenditure reimbursed or reimbursable by any person, and the cost of land or building, are outside the deduction.
The annual filing to the Commissioner or Director, including the Ministry of Agriculture certificate, is due on or before the due date under section 139(1); the entry at item 8 records the claimed figures of Rs. 2,07,00,000 for each of assessment years 2014-15 and 2015-16 and Rs. 10,82,00,000 for assessment year 2016-17, subject to the truncated approval period.
The conditions are lettered i, ii, iii, vi, v, vi, vii, viii in the published text, so two conditions carry the numeral vi.

Where you meet it

In Godrej Agrovet Limited's claim of deduction under section 35CCC in its return of income, in the audited project accounts and audit report filed with the Commissioner, and in an assessment testing whether the conditions of the notification were kept.

What it names

Forms it names. Form No. 3CP

Rules it names. Rule 6AAD of the Income-tax Rules, 1962. The 1962 Rules were replaced by the Income-tax Rules, 2026, which renumbered nearly everything: a rule number quoted here almost never means the same rule today.

On the same provision

Other instruments in this library that name the same provision of the 1961 Act. They are not necessarily still operative, and a later one may have replaced an earlier one without saying so.

Notification No. 14/2015 [F.No.203/31/2014/ITA.II] — Section 35CCC of the Income-tax Act, 1961 - Expenditure on Agricultural Extension Project - Notified Eligible Agricultur 16 February 2015
Notification No. 47E — Following classes and categories of programmes of rural development specified under section 35CC 28 January 1984
Notification No. 327E — Commissioner of Income-tax specified in column (2) of the Table below shall to the exclusion of all other Commissioners 31 May 1979
Circular No. 244 — Section 35CCA l Expenditure by WAY of Payment to Associations/institutions for Carrying OUT Rural Development Programmes 13 July 1978
Circular No. 231 — Section 35C C l Rural Development Allowance 14 November 1977
Notification No. 691E — Areas shown in column (3) of the Schedule hereto annexed and falling outside the local limits of the municipality or can 29 September 1977

What a notification is. A notification is made under a power the Act itself gives, and within that power it is law — unlike a circular, which only binds the department. Its reach is the reach of the enabling provision and no wider, and the date it carries decides from when it works.

Source: the Income Tax Department’s own published text — its page for this instrument.