Indian income tax law | Historical provision

Section 10BB of the Income-tax Act, 1961: Meaning of Computer Programmes in Certain Cases

Section 10BB was a narrow interpretive provision relating to the former export-oriented undertaking deduction under Section 10B. It clarified that, for the older version of Section 10B, production of computer programmes also covered processing or management of electronic data.

Current legal position (October 2026): The Income-tax Act, 2025 took effect on 1 April 2026. The Income Tax Department's published section correspondence labels former Section 10BB as redundant, without a separately numbered equivalent in the new Act. The historical provision may remain relevant when examining earlier tax years or pending proceedings.

What did Section 10BB provide?

Section 10BB addressed the meaning of the expression computer programmes in Section 10B as it stood before the Finance Act, 2000 substituted that section. For that older provision, the expression was read as including processing or management of electronic data.

This was a rule of statutory interpretation, not a standalone deduction. It did not independently grant a new tax exemption or extend a deduction to every information-technology business.

Section 10BB: historical statutory wording

The profits and gains derived by an undertaking from the production of computer programmes under section 10B, as it stood prior to its substitution by section 7 of the Finance Act, 2000 (10 of 2000), shall be construed as if for the words "computer programmes", the words "computer programmes or processing or management of electronic data" had been substituted in that section.

This historical text is preserved from the original article and corresponds to the Income Tax Department's published text of Section 10BB. Read it with the law applicable to the relevant assessment year.

Explanation of the legal terms

Computer programmes

For the limited purpose specified in Section 10BB, this expression was expanded beyond production of computer programmes to include electronic data processing and management. The provision does not supply a general definition for every section of income-tax law.

Processing or management of electronic data

These words broadened the activities covered by the earlier Section 10B wording. Whether particular operations qualified depended on the facts and the remaining conditions of the historical deduction provision.

Undertaking and Section 10B

An undertaking is the business unit whose eligible profits were considered under the relevant export-oriented undertaking provision. Section 10BB expressly referred to Section 10B before its substitution by Section 7 of the Finance Act, 2000. It should not be read as rewriting all later versions of Section 10B.

Legislative background and effective date

Section 10BB was inserted by Section 8 of the Finance Act, 2001 (Act 14 of 2001), with retrospective effect from 1 April 1994. Its retrospective character matters for disputes or assessments concerning the earlier statutory period.

The reference to the Finance Act, 2000 identifies the historical version of Section 10B to which the interpretive rule applied. It is therefore essential to check the assessment year and the statutory text applicable at that time.

Income-tax Act, 2025: does Section 10BB continue?

The Income-tax Act, 1961 was repealed with effect from 1 April 2026, subject to transitional and savings provisions. The Income Tax Department's official 1961-to-2025 correspondence lists Section 10BB as redundant, rather than assigning it a corresponding section number in the Income-tax Act, 2025.

This does not automatically invalidate the relevance of Section 10BB for tax years governed by the 1961 Act. Earlier-year assessments, appeals and other proceedings may continue under the applicable saved provisions.

Official legislation and reference links

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information. Historic deduction claims require review of the applicable assessment year, legislative amendments and case-specific records.