Bhavna Modi Vs ITO (ITAT Raipur)
ITAT Raipur held that penalty imposed under section 272A(1)(d) of the Income Tax Act unjustified when an assessment has been completed under section 143(3) of the Income Tax Act.
Facts- The assessee is an individual, have filed her Return of Income (ROI) on 05.09.2020, which was processed u/s 143(1). The case of the assessee was selected for limited scrutiny under the ‘CASS’. Accordingly, notice u/s 142 of the Act was issued and duly served upon the assessee. While culminating the assessment, AO have made the observation to initiate penalty proceedings u/s 270A of the I.T. Act for under reporting / misreporting of income along with penalty u/s 272A(1)(d) for non-compliances of notices u/s 143(2) / 142(1).
In penalty proceedings, notice u/s 274 r.w.s. 272A(1)(d) was issued to the assessee. Assessee’s reply was not found satisfactory by the AO, therefore, the penalty for non-compliance u/s 272A(1)(d) of the Act was imposed at Rs.10,000/- per default, thus, considering two defaults involved, the penalty is levied at Rs.20,000/-.
Conclusion- Held that the assessee failed to respond certain notices of the Ld. AO, which were issued u/s 143(2) and 142(1) of the Act, however, in response, subsequent notices, the assessee has made necessary replies and accordingly assessment was completed u/s 143(3), therefore, respectfully, following the analogy drawn in the decision referred to (supra), we find that the penalty-imposed u/s 272A(1)(d) of the Act is not justifiable in the present case, as the Ld. AO himself has deemed to have condoned the absence of assessee or his Authorized Representative on earlier occasions, subsequently the necessary information and evidences were furnished by the assessee to assist in the completion of the assessment and since assessment was completed u/s 143(3) of the Act, the penalty u/s 272A(1)(d) cannot be imposed.
