Tribunal rules Assessing Officer lacked jurisdiction to levy late filing fees pre-June 2015

The Tribunal allowed all 111 appeals, concluding that the Assessing Officer lacked jurisdiction to levy late filing fees under Section 234E of the Income Tax Act for TDS statements filed before 01.06.2015. The Tribunal emphasized that the amendment enabling such fees was prospective. It directed a re-evaluation by the Assessing Officer, specifying that late filing fees could only apply to defaults occurring after 01.06.2015.

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Issues Involved:
1. Condonation of Delay
2. Levy of Late Filing Fees under Section 234E of the Income Tax Act, 1961

A. Preliminary Issue - Condonation of Delay

At the outset, the Tribunal noted that some appeals were time-barred by 3 days. The assessee filed an affidavit along with a condonation of delay petition. Upon review, the Tribunal found the reasons for the delay justified and not attributable to deliberate conduct by the assessee. The Ld. DR also had no objection to the delay being condoned. Consequently, the Tribunal condoned the delay and proceeded to hear the appeals on merits.

B. Merits of the Issue

The primary issue in these appeals was the levy of late filing fees under Section 234E of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which was charged by the Assessing Officer through intimations issued under Section 200A of the Act.

The assessee argued that Clause (c) to Section 200A(1) was inserted w.e.f. 01.06.2015, and since this amendment was neither clarificatory nor retrospective, no late filing fees under Section 234E could be charged for TDS statements filed prior to 01.06.2015. The Revenue contended that the respective Ld. CIT (Appeals) had dismissed these appeals due to substantial late filing fees without addressing the merits.

The Tribunal acknowledged that Section 234E was introduced w.e.f. 01.07.2012 by the Finance Act, 2012, but the un-amended Section 200A did not provide the Assessing Officer with the power to charge late filing fees. It was only the Finance Act, 2015, which amended Section 200A to enable the levy of such fees w.e.f. 01.06.2015. Thus, the Tribunal concluded that the Assessing Officer lacked the jurisdiction to levy late filing fees for TDS statements filed for periods prior to 01.06.2015.

The Tribunal referred to various judgments to support its decision. For instance, in the case of C & M Farming Ltd. vs. ACIT, the Pune Bench of the Tribunal held that the Assessing Officer had no jurisdiction to charge late fees under Section 234E for periods before the amendment. Similarly, in Medical Superintendent Rural Hospital vs. DCIT, the Tribunal reiterated that the amendment to Section 200A was prospective and not applicable to periods before 01.06.2015. The Karnataka High Court in Fatheraj Singhvi vs. Union of India also held that no computation of fees under Section 200A could be made for TDS deducted before 01.06.2015.

The Tribunal further noted that in some cases, TDS statements were filed after 01.06.2015, but the defaults occurred before this date. Therefore, the late filing fees charged by the Assessing Officer were unsustainable for want of jurisdiction.

The Tribunal directed the Assessing Officer to re-examine the facts, dates of defaults, and claims of the assessee to ensure the correct application of the law. If the default pertained to periods after 01.06.2015, the provisions for late filing fees under Section 234E would apply.

Conclusion

All 111 appeals were allowed, and the Tribunal directed the Assessing Officer to re-evaluate the cases in accordance with the law. The judgment emphasized that the amendment to Section 200A enabling the levy of late filing fees under Section 234E was prospective and not applicable to TDS statements filed for periods before 01.06.2015.

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