Case Law Details
Paravur Service Cooperative Bank Ltd Vs ITO (ITAT Cochin)
Paravur Service Cooperative Bank filed an appeal before the ITAT Cochin against the penalty imposed by the AO under Section 271B of the Income Tax Act for the bank’s failure to furnish the audit report of its accounts audited by the Cooperative Department Auditor within the specified date. The bank claimed that being a Cooperative Society registered under the Kerala Cooperative Society Act, it had complied with the statutory audit requirements of the Act. However, the AO and the Ld. CIT(A) upheld the penalty, and the bank appealed to the ITAT Cochin.
The ITAT Cochin referred to a decision of the Hon’ble Kerala High Court in a similar case involving another Cooperative Bank. The court held that the failure to furnish the audit report in the prescribed form along with a further report by an Accountant as required by Section 44AB of the Act attracts penalty under Section 271B. The court emphasized the mandatory nature of the provisions and rejected the bank’s argument that the audit report audited under the Co-operative Societies Act would suffice for compliance. Since the bank failed to provide any reasonable cause for non-compliance, the ITAT Cochin confirmed the penalty imposed by the AO.
The ITAT Cochin dismissed the appeal of Paravur Service Cooperative Bank and upheld the penalty imposed under Section 271B of the Income Tax Act for its failure to furnish the audit report of its accounts within the specified date. The tribunal cited the decision of the Hon’ble Kerala High Court and emphasized the mandatory nature of the provisions under Section 44AB of the Act.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT COCHIN
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