TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2015 (12) TMI 392
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....nt was completed u/s 143(3) on 24th November, 2010 at total income of Rs. 1,95,51,565/-. During the assessment proceedings while perusing the tax Audit report AO observed that the tax audit report is signed on 30th September 2008. Therefore, according to the AO tax audit report should have been obtained before the specified date i.e. 30th September 2008. Therefore, AO issued a show cause notice, which remained unresponded. On further opportunity, the assessee submitted that the audit report was obtained on 30th September 2008, which was within the time prescribed for obtaining tax audit report. However, AO was of the view that according to provisions of Section 44AB assessee is required to get his accounts audited before specified date and ....
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....submitted that alternatively, there is delay of only one day and because of the two views possible it should be considered as a reasonable cause in penalty may be deleted. 04. Ld. DR relied on the decisions of lower authorities and submitted that assessee has failed to obtain tax audit report before 30th September 2008 but obtained only on 30th September 2008. Therefore, the penalty is rightly levied u/s 271B of the Act. 05. We have carefully considered the rival submissions and perused the various decisions cited before us. In this case it is undisputed that assessee has obtained the tax audit report on 30.09.2008. Requirement of provision of section 44AB is that Every person,-- (a) carrying on business shall, if his total sale....
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....ull expression in section 44AB to be considered is not just "get his accounts of such previous year audited by an accountant before the specified date", but "get his accounts of such previous year audited by an accountant before the specified date and obtain before that date the report of such audit in the prescribed form". Thus, there are two requirements, the first being to get the accounts audited and the second being to obtain a report of such audit in the prescribed form i.e. prescribed in Rule 6G of the Income-tax Rules, 1962. In the present case, the prescribed forms are Form No. 3CB and Form No. 3 CD. It is next to be seen what is the default, which is to be penalised under section 271B of the Act, which stood as under in the releva....
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....)(a) of the Act as it stood at the relevant time, which was interpreted by the department in practice as "by 31st July" in the case of previous years ending on 31st March. This is borne out by C.B.D.T. Circular No. 549 dated 31-10-1989 appearing at page 3254 ofChaturvedi and Pithisaria's Income Tax Law, Fourth Edition, Vol. 3, relevant extract from which is given below :- "Under the old provisions of sub-section (1) of section 139, time limits for filing the returns of income were prescribed depending upon whether or not the assessee had income from business or profession. In the case of persons deriving income from business or profession, the date of filing the return of income was before the expiry of four months from the end of the pr....
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.... of Maharashtra (Vidarbha Region) Agricultural Debtors' Relief Act in the expression "before the 1st day of April, 1970." It was observed that the word will have to be considered and interpreted with reference to the context and the subject of enactment. It was no doubt true that a general principle of interpretation, where the words of the statute are plain, precise and unambiguous, the intention of the Legislature is to be gathered from the language of the statute itself and no external aid is admissible to construe those words. It is only where the language is ambiguous, uncertain, cloudy or susceptible or more than one meaning or shades of meaning that external aid will be permissible. The following extract from a decision of the Suprem....