Procedure for imposing Penalty - Section 274

Opportunity of being heard required before any penalty; higher-authority approval and faceless scheme govern imposition.

No penalty may be imposed unless the assessee is heard or given a reasonable opportunity of being heard; penalties above specified thresholds require prior approval of the Joint Commissioner; a non-assessing income-tax authority must send a copy of any penalty order to the Assessing Officer; penalty quantum is determined by the law on the date of default; the Central Government may notify a scheme to enable faceless and dynamic-jurisdiction penalty imposition and may modify procedural and jurisdictional provisions to implement that scheme.