Penalty u/s. 271E cannot be levied in case of bonafide belief

Ms. Orison Transport Vs DCIT (ITAT Cuttak) Conclusion: Penalty u/s.271E was not leviable as the belief of assessee that return of advance from customers was not prohibited by section 269T was a bonafide belief. Held: Assessee had paid a sum to 25 different parties which were in excess of 20,000/­ at a time and were not made through cheques. AO therefore, believed that the payments were hit by section 269T and resultantly, assessee was liable to penalty under section 271E. Assessee’s case was that such amounts were neither loans nor deposits and therefore, section 269T would not be applicabl...