Tribunal limits penalty under section 272A(2)(c) during Covid period, directs recalculating amount.

The tribunal allowed the appeal, restricting the penalty under section 272A(2)(c) for the period from 30.07.2019 to 14.03.2020, in accordance with the Apex Court judgment exempting the Covid period. The tribunal directed the Assessing Officer to recalculate the penalty amount for the specified period, limiting it as per the court's ruling.

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Issues involved: Challenge against levy of penalty u/s 272A(2)(c) for non-compliance of notice issued u/s 133(6) of the Income Tax Act for AY 2013-14.

Summary:

Issue 1: Challenge against penalty u/s 272A(2)(c) for non-compliance of notice u/s 133(6):
The appeal was filed against the order of the Ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) confirming a penalty of Rs.27,400/- out of Rs.59,100/- for non-compliance of the notice issued u/s 133(6) of the Act. The appellant argued that the penalty should be deleted or modified to exclude the Covid period, which was exempted by the Hon'ble Apex Court. It was contended that while the notice was sent via email, no physical notice was served. The argument was that the notice sent to the updated email address was not acknowledged, but the tribunal found that the appellant had not informed the AO about the change of email address. The tribunal held that the penalty should be limited to the period excluding the Covid period as per the Apex Court judgment, directing the AO to recompute the penalty amount accordingly.

Decision:
The tribunal allowed the appeal, restricting the penalty u/s 272A(2)(c) for the period from 30.07.2019 to 14.03.2020, in line with the Hon'ble Apex Court judgment regarding the Covid period exemption. The AO was directed to recompute the penalty amount for the specified period.

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