Appeal Dismissed for Incorrect PANs in TDS Return: Penalty Upheld

The Tribunal upheld the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) order, dismissing the appeal against a penalty imposed under section 272B of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The penalty was justified as the assessee failed to provide correct permanent account numbers for deductees in the TDS return, constituting a default under the Act. The failure to establish a reasonable cause for the error led to the appeal's dismissal.

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Issues:
Appeal against penalty under section 272B of the Income-tax Act, 1961 amounting to Rs. 10,000.

Analysis:
The case involved an appeal against a penalty levied under section 272B of the Income-tax Act, 1961 amounting to Rs. 10,000. The assessee had filed the TDS quarterly statement for the financial year 2008-09, but the Assessing Officer found that the permanent account numbers of six deductees were invalid. Despite a show-cause notice, the assessee did not respond, leading to the penalty imposition. The contention was that the assessee had reasonable cause for the error. The Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) upheld the penalty, noting the default was in the case of one deductee. The issue was whether the penalty under section 272B was justified.

Upon review, it was found that the penalty was leviable when the assessee failed to comply with the provisions of the Act. In this case, the assessee had e-filed the TDS return but provided incorrect permanent account numbers for six deductees. The Commissioner observed that one permanent account number was missing or invalid. The Tribunal held that the failure to provide the correct permanent account number for one deductee constituted a default, justifying the penalty under section 272B. The assessee failed to establish a reasonable cause for the error, leading to the dismissal of the appeal.

Therefore, the Tribunal upheld the order of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) and dismissed the appeal of the assessee. The decision was based on the failure to furnish the correct permanent account number for one deductee, which constituted a default under the Act. The appeal was concluded with the dismissal of the assessee's appeal against the penalty.

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