Dominant issue: Whether penalties under sections 271D and 271E...

Dominant issue: Whether penalties under sections 271D and 271E were leviable for cash loans. The Tribunal found on the substantive facts that the assessee's taxable income was below the limit and substantial receipts were agricultural income accepted by the AO, and lenders were agriculturists supported by affidavits and land-revenue records; thus the second proviso applied and no penalty could be sustained. Separately, the Tribunal held that bona fide cash dealings in the first year of a construction business, with genuine source and no tax-evasion motive, constitute reasonable cause under section 273B and warranted deletion of the penalties - ITAT

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