ITAT grants relief to Assessee, deletes late fee under section 234E, based on legal provisions.

The ITAT, Ahmedabad, following the precedent set by the ITAT, Amritsar, allowed all appeals and deleted the late fee charged under section 234E from the Assessee. The ITAT's decision was based on the legal provisions, the scope of permissible adjustments under section 200A, and the absence of enabling provisions for charging fees under section 234E pre-amendment. The ITAT's judgment provided relief to the Assessee by declaring the late fee levy unsustainable in law.

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Issues:
Appeals against separate orders of ld. CIT(A) regarding late fee charged under section 234E of the Income Tax Act for delayed TDS statement submission.

Detailed Analysis:

1. Late Fee Charged under Section 234E:
The Assessee challenged the levy of late fee under section 234E for delayed submission of TDS statements. The Appellant contended that the ITAT, Amritsar, in a similar case, held that the late fee cannot be charged while processing TDS statements under section 200A. The ITAT, Amritsar's decision was supported by the ITAT, Ahmedabad, "SMC" Bench in another case. The Ld. D.R. relied on the orders of the Revenue Authorities.

2. Legal Provisions and Amendments:
The ITAT referred to section 234E, inserted by the Finance Act 2012, which imposes a fee for defaults in furnishing statements. The ITAT also highlighted section 200A, inserted by the Finance Act 2009, for processing TDS statements. An amendment in section 200A through the Finance Act 2015 allowed the computation of fees under section 234E post-June 2015. However, the ITAT emphasized that prior to this amendment, no provision existed for charging fees under section 234E during the processing of TDS statements.

3. ITAT's Analysis and Decision:
The ITAT analyzed the legal provisions and held that the adjustment for late fee under section 234E was beyond the scope of permissible adjustments under section 200A. The ITAT emphasized that the intimation under section 200A was appealable and that the CIT(A) should have examined the legality of the adjustment based on the scope of section 200A. As the levy of fee under section 234E was not permissible during the processing of TDS statements pre-amendment, the ITAT upheld the Assessee's grievance and deleted the late fee charged.

4. Decision and Conclusion:
The ITAT, Ahmedabad, following the precedent set by the ITAT, Amritsar, allowed all appeals and deleted the late fee charged under section 234E from the Assessee. The ITAT's decision was based on the legal provisions, the scope of permissible adjustments under section 200A, and the absence of enabling provisions for charging fees under section 234E pre-amendment. The ITAT's judgment provided relief to the Assessee by declaring the late fee levy unsustainable in law.

This comprehensive analysis of the judgment highlights the legal arguments, provisions, amendments, and the reasoning behind the ITAT's decision to delete the late fee charged under section 234E for delayed TDS statement submission.

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