Home Case Index All Cases Income Tax Income Tax + AT Income Tax - 2015 (11) TMI AT This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2015 (11) TMI 735 - AT - Income TaxPenalty u/s. 271B - failure to furnish the audit accounts u/s. 44AB - it is assessee’s submission that he was under bona fide belief that he was not required to get the accounts audited in view of CBDT Instruction No. 452 dated 17th March, 1986 and the various decisions relied upon by him - Held that:- No material has been placed on record by Revenue to demonstrate that the belief of the Assessee was not a bonafide belief. A reading of Section 271B makes it clear that the imposition of penalty is not mandatory as the word used is “may” meaning thereby that a discretion is conferred on the A.O to impose or not to impose the penalty. Further the provision with respect to imposition of penalty is not mandatory in view of the provision contained in Section 273B of the Act which interalia provides that notwithstanding the provisions of Section 271B, no penalty shall be imposable on the person or the Assessee, as the case may be, for any failure referred to in the said provisions if he proves that there was reasonable cause for the failure. In the present case, the Assessee was having a bona fide belief that he was not required to get his books audited under 44AB in view of the CBDT Circular. In such a situation, we are of the view that there was a reasonable cause on the part of the Assessee for not getting the books audited. Further it is a settled law that when there is a technical or venial breach of the provisions of law, the ends of justice requires that discretion should not be exercised in favour of punishing a minor default and for which we get support from the decision of Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Hindustan Steel Ltd. vs. State of Orissa ( 1969 (8) TMI 31 - SUPREME Court ) - Decided in favour of assessee.
|