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2021 (8) TMI 807 - AT - Income TaxPenalty u/s 271(1)(c) - Defective notice u/s 274 - non specification of charge - HELD THAT:- A bare perusal of the aforementioned notice shows that the Assessing Officer himself was not aware/certain as to whether he is issuing notice to initiate penalty proceedings either for concealment of income or for furnishing inaccurate particulars of income. In our considered opinion, the extracted notice is vague and ambiguous, as the charge framed by the Assessing Officer is not clear and it is not possible for the person to explain the charge whether it is for concealment of particulars of income or for filing inaccurate particulars of income. Following the decisions rendered in the cases of CIT vs. Manjunatha Factory [2013 (7) TMI 620 - KARNATAKA HIGH COURT] CIT vs. SSA’s Emerald Meadows [2016 (8) TMI 1145 - SC ORDER] and Pr. CIT Vs Sahara India Life Insurance Company Ltd. [2019 (8) TMI 409 - DELHI HIGH COURT] we are of the considered view that when the notice issued by the AO is bad in law being vague and ambiguous having not specified under which limb of section 271(1)(c) of the Act, the penalty proceedings initiated u/s 271(1)(c) are not sustainable. We are of the considered view that when the very initiation of the penalty by way of issuance of vague and ambiguous notice u/s 271(1)(c) read with section 274 of the Act without specifically charging the assessee if he has concealed the particulars of income or has furnished inaccurate particulars of such income, subsequent penalty proceedings are not sustainable, hence penalty levied by the AO and confirmed by the Id. CIT (A) is not sustainable and as such, the appeal filed by the assessee is allowed.
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