ITAT allowed the appellant's appeal and deleted the penalty...

ITAT allowed the appellant's appeal and deleted the penalty imposed under section 271B for delayed submission of audit report. The tribunal held that penalty cannot be levied when the audit report is submitted before completion of assessment proceedings. Additionally, the appellant established reasonable cause for the delay, specifically attending to his son's illness, which prevented timely filing. The tribunal relied on precedent recognizing ill health of family members as reasonable cause under section 273B. The decision emphasized that genuine personal circumstances constituting reasonable cause preclude penalty imposition for procedural delays in tax compliance matters.