Paul System Technologies Private Limited Vs ITO (ITAT Chennai)
Summary: The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Chennai Bench, decided a batch of nine appeals filed by Paul System Technologies Private Limited against orders of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), ADDL/JCIT (A)-4, NFAC, Delhi, concerning late fees levied under Section 234E of the Income-tax Act, 1961 while processing quarterly TDS statements under Section 200A. The appeals related to Assessment Years 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. The Tribunal recorded that the solitary issue raised by the assessee was whether the levy of late fees under Section 234E in relation to the relevant quarterly TDS returns was lawful, particularly where the enabling provision in Section 200A was introduced only with effect from 01.06.2015.
The nine appeals concerned ITA Nos. 59 to 67/CHNY/2026. The orders passed under Section 200A and the corresponding CIT(A) orders involved amounts ranging from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 1,01,600. The assessee had filed quarterly TDS returns belatedly, following which the CPC-TDS processed the returns and generated demands towards late fees under Section 234E. The assessee challenged the levy before the CIT(A). The CIT(A), however, dismissed all nine appeals in limine, principally observing that the appeals had been filed after delays ranging from eight to ten years. The CIT(A) also observed that Form 26Q for all four quarters of F.Y. 2014-15 had been filed after 01.06.2015, and consequently held the levy of late fees under Section 234E to be in order.
