Penalty for delayed TDS statements was deleted where the breach was procedural and no revenue prejudice was shown.

Delay in filing quarterly TDS statements was treated as a procedural lapse rather than a substantive default. The explanation that deductees' PAN details could not be obtained in time was accepted as plausible, and no material showed loss or prejudice to the Revenue. Applying the principle that penalty is not justified for a mere technical or venial breach absent contumacious conduct or revenue harm, the penalty was held unsustainable and directed to be deleted.

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Issues: Whether penalty for failure to file quarterly TDS statements within the prescribed time was sustainable in law.

Analysis: The delay in filing the quarterly TDS statements was treated as a procedural lapse. It was found that no loss or prejudice had been caused to the Revenue, and the explanation relating to difficulty in obtaining deductees' PAN details was accepted as plausible in the absence of contrary material. The breach was treated as technical and venial, attracting the settled principle that penalty is not warranted for a mere procedural default without contumacious conduct or revenue prejudice.

Conclusion: The penalty was held to be unsustainable and directed to be deleted.

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