Tribunal allows late fee appeals under Income-Tax Act, emphasizes substantial justice

The Tribunal condoned the delay in filing appeals against late fees under section 234E of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 for delayed TDS statement filings. Emphasizing substantial justice, the Tribunal remanded the matter to the CIT(A) for a decision on merits. The Assessee's appeals were treated as allowed for statistical purposes.

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Issues:
Appeals against late fee under section 234E of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 for delayed filing of TDS statements.

Analysis:
1. The Assessee filed 11 appeals against a common order dated 27.6.2019 of CIT(Appeals)-7, Bangalore for assessment years 2013-14 to 2015-16 regarding late fee levied under section 234E of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 for delayed filing of TDS statements.
2. The Assessee contended that the provisions of section 234E were inserted by the Finance Act, 2012 w.e.f. 1.7.2012, and the authority could levy fee u/s.234E only by virtue of the provisions of Sec.200A(1)(c), (d) & (f) of the Act, which came into force from 1.6.2015, challenging the validity of charging the fee.
3. The CIT(A) found inordinate delay in filing the appeals, and the Assessee's reasons for delay were considered, but the delay was not condoned based on precedents emphasizing negligence and lack of bonafide action on the Assessee's part.
4. The Tribunal observed that the delay should be condoned as per the decision of the Hon'ble Karnataka High Court and the ITAT Hyderabad Bench, emphasizing substantial justice over technicalities, and remanded the matter to the CIT(A) for a decision on merits.

Conclusion:
Considering the Assessee's reasons for delay and the principle of substantial justice prevailing over technical considerations, the Tribunal condoned the delay in filing the appeals and remanded the matter to the CIT(A) for a decision on merits. All the appeals by the Assessee were treated as allowed for statistical purposes.

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