Penalty under section 271A deleted where audited accounts were furnished and books were allegedly lost

Penalty under section 271A was unsustainable because the assessee had already furnished audited accounts and the inability to produce the books was explained by their alleged loss. The Tribunal followed an earlier order of the same Bench on identical facts and found that the factual basis for treating the case as non-maintenance of books was absent. On that footing, the penalty was deleted.

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Issues: Whether the penalty imposed under section 271A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for alleged non-maintenance of books of account was sustainable.

Analysis: The appeal was found to be covered by an earlier order of the same Bench on identical facts. The assessee had furnished audited accounts before the Assessing Officer, and the dispute turned on the inability to produce the books of account because they were stated to have been lost. In such circumstances, the factual basis for levying penalty under section 271A was held to be absent.

Conclusion: The penalty under section 271A was deleted and the appeal was allowed.

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