Section 234E late fee cannot be levied through section 200A intimation for pre-1 June 2015 TDS statements.

Late fee under section 234E could not be computed and recovered through intimation under section 200A for TDS statements relating to periods before 1 June 2015, because the processing machinery in section 200A did not then include clause (c) authorising such levy at the intimation stage. The amendment inserting that clause was treated as the enabling provision for computation of the fee during processing, and it was not available for earlier periods. Relying on binding jurisdictional precedent and a coordinate bench view, the Tribunal treated the late-fee demand in the pre-1 June 2015 intimation as authority and directed deletion.

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Issues: Whether late fee under section 234E of the Income-tax Act, 1961 could be levied through intimation under section 200A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for TDS statements pertaining to periods prior to 01.06.2015.

Analysis: The levy under section 234E was not in dispute; the controversy was confined to whether the fee could be computed and recovered while processing TDS statements under section 200A for assessment years prior to the insertion of clause (c) in section 200A(1) with effect from 01.06.2015. The amendment was treated as the enabling provision for computation of fee at the processing stage. For the relevant periods, the statutory machinery under section 200A did not authorize such levy while issuing intimation. Following the binding jurisdictional precedent and coordinate bench view, the Tribunal held that the late fee levied in the intimation for the pre-01.06.2015 period was without authority.

Conclusion: The levy of late fee under section 234E through intimation under section 200A for the periods in question was invalid and was directed to be deleted.

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