The ITAT deleted penalty for alleged under-reporting tied to the...

The ITAT deleted penalty for alleged under-reporting tied to the education cess claim. It held that the notice invoked a charge meant for processing under section 143(1)(a), while the case had been scrutinised under section 143(3) read with section 260, and no notice on the correct charge was issued. On merits, the deduction claim was supported by then-prevailing precedent; the later retrospective insertion of Explanation 3 to section 40(a)(ii) did not make it under-reporting, and section 155(18) was inapplicable because the claim had been disallowed, not allowed. The Tribunal also deleted the section 14A disallowance because no exempt income was earned and the 2022 amendment operated prospectively.

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