2016 (7) TMI 56 - HC - Income Tax

Tribunal decision on penalty under Income Tax Act upheld, Revenue appeal dismissed.

The Commissioner of Income Tax-IV Pune Versus Honeywell Automation India Ltd.

The High Court upheld the Tribunal's decision to delete the penalty under Section 271(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act for an excessive claim under Section 10A ... Penalty levied u/s 271(1)(c) - excessive claim u/s 10A - Held that:- As in quantum proceedings, the respondent assessee had succeeded and the Tribunal by an order [2012 (6) TMI 622 - ITAT PUNE ] set aside the disallowance on account of partial denial of deduction under Section 10A of the Act while restoring it to the Assessing Officer for fresh consideration. Also it is an admitted position between the parties that the appeals filed by the Revenue against the above ITAT order in quantum proceedings [2014 (9) TMI 1060 - BOMBAY HIGH COURT] were dismissed by the order of HC the penalty proceedings at this stage are unsustainable - Decided in favour of assessee Issues:Challenge to order of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal under Section 260A for A.Y. 2002-03 regarding penalty under Section 271(1)(c) for excessive claim under Section 10A of the Income Tax Act, 1961.Analysis:The High Court considered an appeal challenging the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal's order dated 8th May, 2013, related to the assessment year 2002-03. The primary issue raised by the Revenue was whether the Tribunal erred in deleting the penalty imposed under Section 271(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act for an excessive claim under Section 10A. The Tribunal had initially allowed the respondent assessee's appeal against the penalty, citing success in quantum proceedings where the disallowance under Section 10A was set aside for fresh consideration by the Assessing Officer.The Revenue had filed appeals against the Tribunal's order in quantum proceedings for A.Y. 2002-03 and A.Y. 2001-02, both dealing with the same issue. However, these appeals were dismissed by the High Court's order dated 10th September, 2014. The High Court noted that since the quantum proceedings were already settled in favor of the respondent assessee, the penalty proceedings at the current stage were deemed unsustainable. Consequently, the High Court concluded that no substantial question of law arose for consideration and dismissed the appeal without any costs.In summary, the High Court upheld the Tribunal's decision to delete the penalty levied under Section 271(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, as the quantum proceedings had already favored the respondent assessee regarding the excessive claim under Section 10A. The dismissal of the Revenue's appeals in the quantum proceedings further supported the High Court's decision to reject the challenge against the Tribunal's order, ultimately leading to the dismissal of the appeal without any costs.