2021 (3) TMI 172

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....FA of the Income Tax Act, 1961 on account of their failure to file annual information report under subsection 285 BA of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 3. The petitioners have challenged the impugned order passed by the 1st respondent seeking to impose penalty under section 271 FA of the Income Tax Act, 1961 on the ground that before passing the impugned order, mandatory notice contemplated under section 285 BA (5) was not issued to them and that the penalty was imposed by the respondents directly by passing the mandatory requirement of the aforesaid provision. 4. The operative portion of the impugned order reads as under:- "It was pointed out during the course of hearing that the submission of CD to ITO was in response to his requ....

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....he period of delay is for 12 months and 22 days and the assessee is a defaulter as it has filed the Annual Information Return the financial year 2008-09 on 23/09/10 which is not in time as required under subsection (1) of Section 285 BA of the Income-Tax Act. From the above it can be readily seen that the assessee has failed to adduce any reasonable cause for not filing the Annual Information Return in time for the financial year 2008-09 for which penalty under Section 271 FA is leviable. The onus of proof is on the part of defaulter to establish that there was a reasonable cause for the failure in view of the provisions of Section 273B of the I.T. Act. The above defaulter has failed to discharge the onus of proof and no explanatio....

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....as per demand notice enclosed." 5. Defending the impugned order, the learned counsel for the Income Tax Department submits that under section 285 BA of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the petitioners were required to file annual information return in respect of specified financial transactions which are registered or recorded by them during any financial year and information relating to such transaction were to be filed before the prescribed income tax authorities or such other authority or agency as may be prescribed. He further submits that returns were to be filed within the prescribed time after the end of such financial year, in such form and manner (including on a floppy, diskette, magnetic cartridge tape, CD-ROM or any computer readable....