Petition dismissed; petitioner told remedy is Section 154 rectification and respondent must consider correction or allow return filing

HC dismissed the petition, finding the petitioner had full knowledge of filing the return in the wrong format and had previously corrected a later year's ITR. The court held the petitioner's remedy lies under Section 154 for rectification and directed that if an application is filed, the respondent shall decide it and, if warranted, permit filing or correction of the return. No further adjudication by the HC was required.

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Issues:
1. Challenge to penalty notice under Section 221(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for filing a wrong return for AY 2013-14.
2. Objection to not availing remedies under Section 154 and Section 249 of the Act.
3. Request for withdrawal of penalty and fresh notice under Section 143(1) for correcting the return.

Analysis:
1. The petitioner challenged the penalty notice for filing a wrong return for AY 2013-14. The respondent highlighted that the petitioner filed the return in the wrong format, leading to a demand of Rs. 68,36,280. The respondent argued that the petitioner repeated the mistake in AY 2014-15 as well. The respondent contended that the petitioner did not respond to the central processing center's intimation regarding the defective return, resulting in the demand. The respondent emphasized that the petitioner had not availed the correct procedures and remedies available under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

2. The respondent objected that the petitioner circumvented the remedies available under Section 154 and Section 249 of the Act. The petitioner argued that the respondent did not provide a fair opportunity and requested the withdrawal of the penalty with a fresh notice under Section 143(1) to correct the return. The Court considered Section 154 of the Act, which allows for rectification of mistakes apparent from the record. The Court noted that the petitioner had corrected the return for AY 2014-15, indicating awareness of the mistake. The Court advised the petitioner to utilize the remedy under Section 154 for seeking necessary rectifications.

3. The Court emphasized that the petitioner had the option to seek rectifications under Section 154 of the Act. The Court dismissed the petition, stating that the petitioner should avail of the remedy provided under the Act to rectify the mistakes in the return. No further adjudication was deemed necessary at that stage, and all pending applications were disposed of accordingly.

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