2013 (3) TMI 866 - AT - Income Tax

Partial success in appeal for late TDS filing penalty under Income Tax Act

GSL Nova Petrochemicals Ltd. Versus JCIT, TDS Range, Ahmedabad

The appeal was partly allowed in the case involving a penalty under section 272A(2)(k) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for late filing of TDS quarterly ... - Issues involved: Appeal against penalty u/s 272A(2)(k) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for late filing of TDS quarterly statements.Summary:The appeal was directed against the order of Ld. CIT(A) XXI, Ahmedabad for the assessment year 2010-11. The assessee raised grounds challenging the penalty imposed by the Joint Commissioner, TDS Range, Ahmedabad u/s 272A(2)(k) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The main contention was the delay in filing quarterly TDS statements and the imposition of penalty amounting to Rs. 2,55,500.The assessee argued that the delay was due to software issues and also due to delayed tax payments. Reference was made to a tribunal decision in the case of Porwal Creative Vision (P) Ltd to support the argument. The Departmental Representative supported the orders of the authorities below.After considering the submissions and the tribunal decision cited by the assessee, it was observed that most of the quarterly statements were filed late even after the tax payments were made. The contention of software malfunction causing a significant delay was not accepted. Regarding the delayed tax payments affecting the filing of TDS returns, it was held in the tribunal decision that penalty should be levied only from the date of tax payment till the date of filing the TDS return.Therefore, the appeal was partly allowed, directing the Assessing Officer to calculate the penalty based on the delay from the date of tax payment to the date of filing the TDS return.