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2023 (2) TMI 853 - ITAT JAIPURPenalty u/s 271B - failure to file audit report on due date - HELD THAT:- When the assessee has voluntarily complied the law, the revenue has not substantiated by placing anything on record that the explanation given by the assessee are not genuine. The assessee has filed the return has paid the taxes and the returned income is accepted by the revenue. Therefore, based on these facts and voluntary compliance made by the assessee the lower authorities should have exercised the discretion available with him in not penalizing the assessee as there is no direct or indirect loss of delay in submission of the audit report and there is no malafide intention and the assessee has voluntarily complied though belatedly. The reasons based on upon it the audit report was filed belated is explained by the assessee by filling a correct fact on record and the assessee immediately filed the audit report after getting rewriting the books of account and the reason placed on record are the genuine and it may happen to anyone and has to face technical bugs in the system and the delay based on that technical bug in filling the audit report is based on genuine reasons. Therefore, she has sufficient reason to file the audit report delayed. We find that this is a reasonable cause which has resulted into failure of the assessee to comply with the law. We find that penalty levied u/s 271B cannot be levied for the reason that there was a failure on the part of the assessee to obtain tax audit report was on account of a bona fide reason of crashing the compute data and thus has to rewrite the same. The revenue could not show that the belief of the assessee was mala fide. There are various judicial precedents of not levying the penalty under such circumstances. In view of this, we reverse the orders of the lower authorities and direct the learned assessing officer to delete the penalty levied u/s 271B of the Act. Appeal of the assessee is allowed.
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