Tribunal allows appeal, cancels penalty for late tax audit report filing, citing reasonable cause.

The tribunal allowed the appeal filed by the assessee, condoning the delay in filing the appeal and admitting it for adjudication. Regarding the levy of penalty under section 271B of the Income Tax Act for belated filing of a tax audit report, the tribunal found a reasonable cause for the delay attributed to the Department of Cooperative Audit, ruling that the penalty could not be imposed in such circumstances. As a result, the tribunal directed the assessing officer to delete the penalty imposed under section 271B of the Act.

---

---

Issues involved:
- Condonation of delay in filing appeal
- Levy of penalty under section 271B of the Income Tax Act

Condonation of delay in filing appeal:
The appeal filed by the assessee was initially considered barred by limitation, but a petition for condonation of delay was submitted explaining the reasons for the delay. The tribunal found the reasons provided by the assessee to be reasonable and in accordance with the Act for condonation of delay. Therefore, the delay in filing the appeal was condoned, and the appeal was admitted for adjudication.

Levy of penalty under section 271B of the Income Tax Act:
The case involved the levy of a penalty under section 271B for the belated filing of a tax audit report as required under section 44AB of the Income Tax Act. The assessee, a cooperative society, had filed the tax audit report after the due date, but before the completion of assessment proceedings. The delay in obtaining the audit report was attributed to the Department of Cooperative Audit, which was not in the hands of the assessee. The tribunal found that there was a reasonable cause for the delay in filing the tax audit report, as it was a technical breach without any malicious intent on the part of the assessee. Relying on previous decisions and the jurisdictional High Court's ruling, the tribunal concluded that the penalty under section 271B could not be levied in such circumstances. Therefore, the tribunal directed the assessing officer to delete the penalty levied under section 271B of the Act.

In conclusion, the tribunal allowed the appeal filed by the assessee, emphasizing that the reasons provided for the delay in filing the tax audit report were reasonable and did not warrant the imposition of a penalty.

---