Tribunal Upholds Levy of Fee under Income Tax Act: Late Fee Issue Debatable

The Tribunal dismissed the assessee's appeal against the levy of fee under section 234E of the Income Tax Act for A.Y. 2013-14. The Tribunal held that the issue of late fee applicability before 1.6.2015 was debatable, following the decision of the Hon'ble Gujarat High Court. The Tribunal found that the assessee had been given sufficient opportunity by the ld. CIT(A) and that debatable issues cannot be rectified under section 154. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, upholding the order of the ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals).

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Issues involved:
The appeal filed by the assessee against the order of ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) under section 250 of Income Tax Act, 1961 for A.Y. 2013-14 regarding the levy of fee charged under section 234E of the Act.

Issue 1: Application under section 154 against order under section 200A
The assessee filed an application under section 154 of the Act against the order under section 200A, requesting rectification of the levy of fee under section 234E. The ITO rejected the application, citing it as a debatable issue not covered under section 154, based on a decision of the Jurisdictional Rajasthan High Court. The ld. CIT(A) upheld the order under section 154, leading the assessee to appeal before the Tribunal. The Tribunal noted the belated filing of TDS statements and the application of late fee, with the assessee relying on case laws to argue against the levy of late fee prior to 1.6.2015.

Issue 2: Grounds of appeal
Under Ground No. 1, the assessee contended that proper opportunity was not given by the ld. CIT(A). However, the Tribunal found that the ld. CIT(A) had issued multiple notices to the assessee, who failed to respond, indicating sufficient opportunity. Ground No. 1 was dismissed. In Ground No. 2, the debate centered around whether the late fee under section 234E could be levied for the period before 1.6.2015. The Hon'ble Gujarat High Court dismissed the appeal of the assessee, disagreeing with the Hon'ble Karnataka High Court on this issue. The Tribunal concluded that the question was debatable, following the precedent that debatable issues cannot be rectified under section 154. Ground No. 3, a general ground, was dismissed, leading to the dismissal of the assessee's appeal.

Separate Judgment:
None mentioned.

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