2007 (8) TMI 326

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....appeals have been filed by the Revenue against the common order dated September 4, 2006, passed by the Tribunal in ITA Nos. 4417 and 4418/Del/2004 for the assessment year 2000-01 whereby the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal deleted the penalties imposed by the Assessing Officer on the ground that there was a reasonable cause with the assessee for failure to issue the tax deducted at source certificates within the stipulated time. 3. The assessee has filed tax deducted at source return and it was noticed by the Income-tax Officer that the assessee had not issued tax deducted at source certificate within the prescribed time. Since there was delay, the matter was referred to the Joint Commissioner of Income-tax for penalty. 4. Show-cause no....

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....ty under section 272A(2)(g), mens rea is not required and as soon as the default is committed, the penalty has to be levied. 10. In support of her contentions learned counsel cited a decision of the Supreme Court reported as Gujarat Travancore Agency v. CIT [1989] 177 ITR 455. 11. In Gujarat Travancore Agency's case [1989] 177 ITR 455 (SC), the assessee did not file its income-tax return under the Act within the statutory period and thereafter the Income-tax Officer initiated penalty proceedings against the assessee and imposed penalty upon him. The explanation of the assessee that he was under the bona fide belief that he had no assessable income and had, therefore, not filed the returns earlier was not accepted by the Income-tax Off....

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.... the employees have left and the assessee was forced to work with skeleton staff and no senior/experienced person was left for looking after tax matters. Levy of penalty under section 272A(2)(g) is subject to reasonable cause as stipulated under section 273B. As per section 273B, no penalty shall be imposable if the assessee proves that there was reasonable cause for failure to issue the tax deducted at source certificate within the stipulated time. In the context of levy of penalty, the words 'reasonable cause' would mean cause which is beyond the control of the assessee. 'Reasonable cause' means cause which prevents a reasonable man of ordinary prudence acting under normal circumstances, without negligence or inaction for want of bona fid....