ITAT Pune Rules in Favor of Assessee: Penalties u/s 271B Deleted for A.Y. 2010-11 and 2012-13 Due to Bona Fide Belief.

The ITAT Pune allowed the assessee's appeals for A.Y. 2010-11 and A.Y. 2012-13, directing the deletion of penalties under section 271B of the Income Tax Act. The Tribunal emphasized the appellant's bona-fide belief concerning turnover calculation, concluding that the penalties were unjustified, thus ruling in favor of the assessee.

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Issues Involved:
- Appeals filed by the assessee against separate orders of the Commissioner of Income Tax for assessment years 2010-11 and 2012-13.
- Whether penalty under section 271B of the Income Tax Act should be levied on the assessee.
- Identical facts and common issues in both appeals.

Analysis:
1. Assessment Year 2010-11:
- The appellant, an individual, filed a return of income for the assessment year 2010-11 declaring total income of Rs.1,73,260.
- During assessment proceedings, the Assessing Officer found cash deposits of Rs.1,48,43,428 in the appellant's bank account, alleging undisclosed business receipts.
- The Assessing Officer issued a notice under section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and completed the assessment at 8% of the cash deposits.
- A penalty under section 271B was imposed on the appellant for failure to get accounts audited as per section 44AB.
- The appellant contended being a commission agent for Mr. Dinanath Gupta and argued that only annual commission should be considered as gross receipts.
- The ITAT Pune held that the penalty under section 271B was not justified as the appellant was under a bona-fide belief regarding turnover calculation, directing the deletion of the penalty.

2. Assessment Year 2012-13:
- The facts and issues in the appeal for A.Y. 2012-13 were identical to those in A.Y. 2010-11.
- The decision taken for A.Y. 2010-11 was applied mutatis mutandis to the appeal for A.Y. 2012-13, resulting in the allowance of the appeal for A.Y. 2012-13 as well.
- Both appeals of the assessee were allowed, and the penalty under section 271B was directed to be deleted in both cases.

In conclusion, the Appellate Tribunal ITAT Pune allowed the appeals filed by the assessee against the orders of the Commissioner of Income Tax for A.Y. 2010-11 and A.Y. 2012-13, directing the deletion of the penalty under section 271B in both cases. The Tribunal emphasized the bona-fide belief of the appellant regarding the turnover calculation, leading to the decision in favor of the assessee in both appeals.

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