Ansh Organisers Private Limited Vs DCIT (ITAT Ahmedabad)
No 270A Penalty When Income Declared in 148 Return Is Accepted: ITAT Deletes ₹4.91 Lakh Penalty
The Ahmedabad ITAT deleted penalty levied under Section 270A on Ansh Organisers Private Limited holding that once the income disclosed in the return filed in response to notice under Section 148 was accepted without any addition, the case could not be treated as one of “under-reporting” or “misreporting” of income.
The assessee had originally not filed return under Section 139(1), following which reassessment proceedings were initiated based on information from GST returns and non-filing alerts generated through the Insight portal. In response to notice under Section 148, the assessee filed return declaring income of ₹37.82 lakh, which was fully accepted by the Assessing Officer in reassessment order passed under Sections 147/144B without making any addition.
Despite accepting the returned income, the AO initiated penalty proceedings under Section 270A alleging under-reporting of income on the reasoning that had the case not been selected for scrutiny, there would have been revenue loss. Penalty of ₹4.91 lakh was accordingly levied.
The Tribunal held that once the reassessment return was accepted and the assessee had furnished reconciliation statements, financials, audit report and bank statements during proceedings, there remained no basis to allege under-reporting or misreporting. The ITAT further observed that the Assessing Officer had also failed to specify the exact limb of Section 270A(2) under which penalty was initiated. Accordingly, the Tribunal held that the penalty was unsustainable in law and deleted it in full.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT AHMEDABAD
