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2022 (3) TMI 764 - AT - Income TaxPenalty u/s. 271B - delay in obtaining Tax Audit Report - assessee failure to comply with the provision of section 44AB - whether there was reasonable cause for the delay in filing the audit report by the assessee company? - HELD THAT:- We find some force in the submission of assessee that assessee being a Public sector company Act had to submit its audit report in Form 3CA in which report u/s. 44AB is required to be submitted for the said purpose. The Tax Audit report u/s. section 44AB of I.T. Act has to be provided with copy of statutory audit report alongwith audited P & L Account and balance sheet. Tax Auditor in the case of assessee whose accounts are required to be audited on any other law will have to commence his work only on the basis of such audited accounts together with information required to be submitted in Form 3CD. Being a public sector unit, the assessee company after completion of statutory audit under Companies Act is required to obtain report by CAG. The assessee accounts for the year ended 31.03.13 were not finalized and audited before the specified dated i.e. 30th September 2013. The statutory audit was completed only on 23rd January 2014 and the reports from the CAG was obtained in March 2014, thereafter the tax audit report was undertaken only after April 2014 and the report u/s. 44AB was obtained on 17th September 2014. These facts were stated by the assessee before the AO as well as before Ld. CIT(A). We are of the opinion that there was reasonable cause for the assessee for not getting the accounts audited before the statutory due date. In spite of best effort of the assessee to get it accounts audited and obtained audit report before the specified date, it could not be so due to circumstances beyond its control. Therefore, we are inclined to hold that assessee has shown reasonable cause for its failure to comply with the requirement of section 44AB before the specified date. - Decided in favour of assessee.
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