Appellate Tribunal rules on penalty for non-filing financial statements

The Appellate Tribunal upheld the penalty imposed u/s. 271FA on a Cooperative Bank for non-filing of Statement of Financial Transactions. However, the Tribunal ruled that the appeal against this penalty was not maintainable before them, citing legal precedents and the absence of explicit inclusion in appealable orders under Section 253. The Tribunal directed the assessee to pursue the alternative remedy of appealing before the CIT(A) as suggested by the Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court, clarifying the legal avenues for aggrieved parties in similar cases.

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Issues:
1. Imposition of penalty u/s. 271FA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for non-filing of Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT) by a Cooperative Bank.
2. Maintainability of appeal before the Tribunal against the penalty order u/s. 271FA.

Issue 1: Imposition of Penalty u/s. 271FA:
The appeal before the Appellate Tribunal ITAT PUNE concerned the imposition of a penalty of Rs. 1,32,800 u/s. 271FA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 on a Cooperative Bank for failing to file a Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT) in Form No. 61A in relation to "Specified Transactions" for the Assessment Year 2017-18. The penalty was calculated at Rs. 100 per day from 01-07-2017 to 30-11-2017 and Rs. 500 per day from 01-12-2017 to 23-07-2018. The assessee challenged this penalty order before the Tribunal, leading to a detailed legal analysis.

Issue 2: Maintainability of Appeal:
The crux of the legal debate revolved around the maintainability of the appeal before the Tribunal against the penalty order u/s. 271FA. Section 253 of the Income-tax Act lists orders appealable before the Tribunal, but notably, it does not explicitly include orders passed u/s. 271FA. The Tribunal examined precedents, including the Kolkata Bench's decision in Malda District Central Co-op Bank Ltd. Vs. DIT and orders from Pune Benches, which held that appeals against orders u/s. 271FA were not maintainable. The Tribunal noted that the Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court in Sub-Registrar, Suratgarh, District Sri Ganganagar Vs. DIT had endorsed the view that such appeals were not maintainable. The High Court highlighted the alternative remedy available to the assessee through an appeal before the CIT(A). Citing this legal precedent, the Tribunal dismissed the appeal, affirming the non-maintainability of the appeal u/s. 271FA.

In conclusion, the Appellate Tribunal upheld the penalty imposed u/s. 271FA on the Cooperative Bank for non-filing of SFT. However, the Tribunal ruled that the appeal against this penalty was not maintainable before them based on legal precedents and the absence of specific inclusion in the appealable orders under Section 253. The Tribunal directed the assessee to pursue the alternative remedy of appealing before the CIT(A) as suggested by the Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court. The judgment serves as a significant legal interpretation regarding the maintainability of appeals against penalties imposed u/s. 271FA under the Income-tax Act, providing clarity on the available legal avenues for aggrieved parties in such cases.

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