Penalty appeal becomes redundant once the underlying penalty is waived by the competent authority.

Once the competent authority waived the penalties for belated filing of returns, the assessee's appeals against those penalty orders ceased to survive for appellate adjudication. The ITAT noted that the waiver order had been placed before it and held that the penalty challenge no longer required examination on merits. The appeals were therefore treated as redundant and dismissed.

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Issues: Whether the assessee's appeals against penalty for belated filing of returns survived after the Commissioner waived the penalties under section 271(1)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: The Tribunal noted that a copy of the Commissioner's order waiving the penalties had been placed before it. In view of that waiver, the challenge to the penalty orders no longer called for adjudication on merits.

Conclusion: The appeals were treated as redundant and dismissed.

Final Conclusion: The penalty dispute ceased to survive for appellate adjudication, and the assessee obtained no relief in these appeals.

Ratio Decidendi: Once the very penalty under challenge has been waived by the competent authority, an appeal against that penalty becomes redundant and is liable to be dismissed.

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