Umesh Govindrao Patil Vs ITO (ITAT Panaji)
Return Filing Failure Caused by Tax Consultant Is Reasonable Cause; Panaji ITAT Deletes Penalties under Sections 271F and 271(1)(c)
The assessee, a salaried employee, earned salary of ₹9,55,296, on which tax had been deducted and duly reflected in Form 16 and Form 26AS. Although the assessee had provided all relevant particulars to his regular tax consultant, the return for AY 2015-16 was not filed because the consultant was facing health and family problems.
Following reassessment proceedings, the AO levied:
- ₹5,000 under section 271F for failure to file the return; and
- ₹47,442 under section 271(1)(c) for alleged concealment or furnishing inaccurate particulars.
The ITAT noted that the assessee had been relying on the same consultant for more than 20 years. The consultant furnished written confirmation that the return could not be filed despite receiving the necessary details because of his personal difficulties.
The Tribunal held that these circumstances constituted a reasonable cause under section 273B. Consequently, the penalty of ₹5,000 under section 271F was deleted.
Regarding the concealment penalty, the ITAT observed that the salary, TDS, house-property loss and deduction under section 80C were already reflected in Form 16 and Form 26AS. Further, the income declared in the return filed in response to notice under section 148 was accepted by the AO.
Accordingly, the Tribunal held that the assessee had neither concealed income nor furnished inaccurate particulars, and deleted the penalty of ₹47,442 under section 271(1)(c).
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT PANAJI
The captioned appeals at the instance of assessee pertaining to A.Y. 2015-16 are directed against the separate orders dated 04.12.2025 framed by National Faceless Appeal Centre, Delhi arising out of respective Penalty Orders dated 02.05.2024 passed u/s.271(1)(c) and u/s.271F of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (in short ‘the Act’). Assessee by: Shri Ulhas Kini (virtual) Revenue by: Shri Mayur Kamble Date of hearing: 12.08.2026 Date of pronouncement: 18.08.2026
