P.Senthil Kumar Vs PCIT-5 (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court considered an appeal filed by the assessee under Section 260A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, against the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal for the assessment year 2012-13. The appeal raised questions regarding the interpretation and application of Sections 271B and 273B of the Act, particularly whether the Tribunal had correctly applied the provision exempting an assessee from penalty upon establishing reasonable cause for failure and whether filing the audit report along with the return constituted only a technical or venial breach.
The principal issue before the Court was whether the assessee had shown sufficient cause for not furnishing the tax audit report before the prescribed due date of 30 September 2012.
The assessee, an individual engaged in the granite business, filed the audit report along with the return of income on 31 March 2013. The assessment was completed under Section 143(3) on 29 March 2015. Since the audit report had not been furnished by the due date, the Assessing Officer levied a penalty of ₹1.5 lakhs under Section 271B by order dated 29 September 2015. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) dismissed the assessee’s appeal on 20 October 2016, and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal also upheld the penalty.
