Tribunal Cancels Penalty for Late Return Filing

The Tribunal allowed the Assessee's appeal, deleting the penalty imposed under section 271B. The Tribunal found that the audited books were filed along with the revised return, meeting the requirements despite the revised return being filed after the due date. As there was no failure to get accounts audited or provide the necessary report before finalizing the assessment, the penalty under section 271B was removed.

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Issues:
Assessment of total taxable income, disallowance of expenses, penalty under section 271B for not getting accounts audited within prescribed period, ex parte decision due to non-appearance of Assessee, revision of return with audit report, imposition of penalty u/s 271B.

Assessment of Total Taxable Income:
The Assessee declared a total taxable income of Rs. 6,50,860/- initially, which was later revised admitting the same income. The case was processed under section 143(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Assessee was observed to have declared sales of Rs. 3,57,70,786/- and purchases of Rs. 3,45,81,398/- during the year under consideration.

Disallowance of Expenses:
The Assessing Officer (AO) disallowed Rs. 34,58,139/- @ 10% of purchases, Rs. 1,000/- debited as donation, and Rs. 3,04,197/- @ 50% of expenses claimed in the P&L A/c by the Assessee. The Assessee failed to produce books of account, leading to the conclusion that there were no supporting vouchers for the expenses and purchases.

Penalty under Section 271B:
The AO initiated penalty proceedings under section 271B as the Assessee got the accounts audited after the stipulated period. The penalty of Rs. 1,50,000/- was imposed, which was affirmed by the Commissioner. The Assessee appealed against this penalty imposition.

Ex Parte Decision:
The appeal was decided ex parte as the notice of hearing sent to the Assessee was returned undelivered. The Tribunal proceeded to decide the appeal in the absence of the Assessee.

Revision of Return with Audit Report:
The original return was filed on 30.09.2011, revised on 14.09.2012, and audited on 30.09.2011 by Shri V.K. Gupta of M/s M.K. Goswami & Co. The revised return was filed after the due date, leading to penalty proceedings under section 271B. However, the audited books of account were filed along with the revised return, and the facts and figures of the original and revised returns were the same.

Decision on Penalty under Section 271B:
The Tribunal considered the circumstances and relevant provisions of law. It noted that the audited books were filed along with the revised return, and there was no failure to get accounts audited or furnish the required report before finalizing the assessment. Consequently, the penalty under section 271B was deleted, and the appeal by the Assessee was allowed.

This detailed analysis covers the issues of assessment, disallowance of expenses, penalty imposition under section 271B, ex parte decision, revision of return with audit report, and the Tribunal's decision on the penalty.

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