HC held that penalty proceedings under Sections 271D, 271DA, and...

HC held that penalty proceedings under Sections 271D, 271DA, and 271E cannot proceed without the Assessing Officer's recorded satisfaction regarding contraventions of Sections 269SS, 269ST, or 269T. The absence of explicit satisfaction notes in assessment orders renders consequential penalty proceedings invalid. The court granted respondents an opportunity to produce relevant records or file an affidavit-in-opposition disclosing additional material within two weeks, thereby preserving the potential for future penalty proceedings subject to proper documentation of statutory contraventions.

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