Tribunal rulings on Income Tax Act late filing fees: appeals allowed, fees deleted for 2013-14, upheld for 2014-15, confirmed for 2015-16.

The Tribunal allowed the appeals for the assessment year 2013-14, partly allowed for 2014-15, and dismissed for 2015-16. Late filing fees under section 234E of the Income Tax Act were deleted for the year 2013-14 as the returns were filed before 01.06.2015. However, late fees were upheld for the 3rd quarter return of 2014-15 and confirmed for 2015-16 as all returns were filed after 01.06.2015. Stay applications were deemed infructuous.

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Issues:
Delay in filing appeals due to Covid-19 lockdown, condonation of delay, levy of late filing fee under section 234E of the Income Tax Act, 1961, validity of late fee levy under section 234E for TDS returns filed prior to 01.06.2015, interpretation of provisions of section 200A and section 234E, applicability of judgments by High Courts on late fee levy.

Analysis:
The appeals were filed against orders by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) related to assessment years 2013-14 to 2015-16. The delay of 249 days in filing appeals was attributed to the Covid-19 lockdown, which was condoned considering the general exemption provided by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The issue of late filing fee under section 234E arose due to TDS quarterly returns filed beyond the specified due date. The Assessing Officer had imposed late filing fees under section 234E, which was challenged by the assessee before the CIT(A).

The key issue was whether the Assessing Officer could levy late fees under section 234E for TDS returns filed before 01.06.2015. The Finance Act introduced section 234E, enabling the levy of late fees for belated filing of quarterly returns by tax deductors. Various High Courts' judgments, including the Karnataka and Kerala High Courts, emphasized the need for an enabling provision in section 200A to compute late fees under section 234E. The Tribunal also held that late fees under section 234E could not be imposed for periods before 01.06.2015 when there was no enabling provision.

For the assessment years in question, the Tribunal ruled differently based on the timing of the returns filed. Late fees for the AY 2013-14 were deleted as the return and order were before 01.06.2015. Late fees for the AY 2014-15 were upheld for the 3rd quarter return filed after 01.06.2015. Late fees for the AY 2015-16 were confirmed as all returns were filed after 01.06.2015. Consequently, the appeals for the AY 2013-14 were allowed, partly allowed for AY 2014-15, and dismissed for AY 2015-16, with the stay applications being deemed infructuous.

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