TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2022 (6) TMI 1160
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....tating therein the reasons for belated filing of this appeal. On perusal of the reasons stated for belated filing of the appeal, we noticed that no latches can be attributed to the assessee and there is sufficient cause in filing this appeal belatedly. Accordingly, we condone the delay in filing this appeal and proceed to dispose of this appeal on merits. 3. The solitary issue raised is whether the CIT(A) is justified in confirming the Assessing Officer's order, wherein penalty has been imposed u/s 271C of the I.T.Act amounting to Rs.9,12,060. 4. The brief facts of the case are as follows: The assessee is a company engaged in the business of running a resort, namely, `The Elephant Court' at Thekkady. For the assessment year 2010-2011, th....
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....8 are not applicable in this case by relying on the decision of the Hon'ble High Court of Kerala in the case of US Technology Ltd (2010) 195 Taxman 323 (Ker). However the appellant also has relied on the same decision of Hon.High Court of Kerala by stating that: "It is pertinent to point out that the Hon'ble High Court, in the concluding paragraph, has said that failure to remit on account of failure to recover for any reason, whatsoever, then the case cal/s for reduction of penalty, if not waiver. Similarly, recovery and remittance of tax though with delay, but with interest, before detection is certainly a mitigating circumstance for waiver or reduction of penalty. In the same judgement, the Assessing Officer was directed to con....
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....ent account. The relevant portion of the impugned order is reproduced here in for the sake of clarity: "Verification of the records revealed that the assessee is a habitual defaulter in the matter of depositing tax deducted at source to the Central Government Account There was delay in depositing tax deducted at source during this financial year 2009-10. This delay in depositing tax deducted at source has continued during the F.Y.2007-08, 2008-09 and subsequently financial year 2010-11 also". 10. Considering the above facts and circumstances of this case and also relying on the observations made by the jurisdictional High Court in the case of US Technologies International (P) Limited, I am of the opinion that the penalty levied by the A....
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....penalty u/s 271C(1)(b) of the I.T.Act for non-remittance of tax deducted at source will have application only to a limited extent, involving sub-section (2) of section 115-O of the I.T.Act (coming under Chapter XII-D) or covered under the "second proviso" to section 194B f the I.T.Act (coming under Chapter XIIB). The relevant finding of the judgment of the Full Bench of the Hon'ble Kerala High Court reads as follow:- "Section 271C of the Income-tax Act is quite categorical. Its scope and extent of application is discernible from the provision itself, in unambiguous terms. When the non-deduction of the whole or any part of the tax, as required by or under the various instances / provisions of Chapter XVII-B would invite penalty under secti....
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....CIT & Anr. (supra) while reversing the Division Bench ruling in the case of U S Technology International Limited (supra), had held that section 273B of the I.T.Act shall be applicable for also the cases covered u/s 271C(1)(b) of the I.T.Act and not confined to section 271C(1)(a) of the I.T.Act. The relevant finding of the Full Bench of the Hon'ble Kerala High Court reads as follows:- "Section 273B of the Income-tax Act stipulates that no penalty shall be imposed on the person or the assessee, as the case may be, for any failure referred to in the provisions mentioned therein, if he proves that there was reasonable cause for the failure. The said provision has already been extracted. One among the provisions mentioned therein is section "2....