https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=765740 The ITAT Chennai quashed a penalty order u/s 270A imposed on an assessee who claimed exemption on leave salary received on voluntary retirement u/s 10(10AA). The assessee, a government employee permanently absorbed in MTNL, filed a revised return claiming full exemption based on bona fide belief. The tribunal held that penalty imposition is discretionary as section 270A uses "may" not "shall," making it enabling rather than mandatory. Given the debatable nature of the exemption claim and the assessee's genuine explanation with full disclosure of material facts, the penalty was deemed unjustified and quashed. en-us Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0530 Fri, 07 Feb 2025 10:22:50 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=765740 The ITAT Chennai quashed a penalty order u/s 270A imposed on an assessee who claimed exemption on leave salary received on voluntary retirement u/s 10(10AA). The assessee, a government employee permanently absorbed in MTNL, filed a revised return claiming full exemption based on bona fide belief. The tribunal held that penalty imposition is discretionary as section 270A uses "may" not "shall," making it enabling rather than mandatory. Given the debatable nature of the exemption claim and the assessee's genuine explanation with full disclosure of material facts, the penalty was deemed unjustified and quashed. Case-Laws Income Tax Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=765740