Penalty u/s 271C - Non deduction of tds u/s 194C - payment made...

Penalty u/s 271C - Non deduction of tds u/s 194C - payment made to the Government and not to the HUDA - Once the fact of receipt of amounts received by HUDA being deposited in Consolidated Fund of State is established, there can be no second opinion that Assessee was rightly directed by DTCP, Haryana to not deduct the TDS. Even otherwise no intentional default is attributed to assessee and the default, if any, was on account of ambiguity which had arisen out of a direction contained in a statutory document, so no penalty can be justified u/s 271C of the Act, which is meant to address contumacious conduct - Levy of penalty u/s 271C of the Act cannot be sustained - AT