Narayani Educational Health And Charitable Trust Vs DCIT (ITAT Patna)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Patna has offered a second opportunity to Narayani Educational Health And Charitable Trust, remanding its penalty cases back to the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] for re-examination. The appeals, covering assessment years 2013-14, 2015-16, and 2016-17, concerned penalties imposed under Section 271(1)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for non-compliance with notices.
The ITAT, in its consolidated order issued on February 7, 2025, first addressed a delay of 106 days in filing all three appeals. After reviewing the assessee’s applications for condonation, the Tribunal found “reasonable cause which was beyond the control of the assessee” and deemed the delays unintentional, thus condoning them and proceeding to adjudicate the appeals on their merits.
The genesis of the dispute for assessment year 2013-14 lies in an assessment order passed on December 28, 2018, under Section 153C read with Section 153A/143(3), which assessed the trust’s income at Nil. Subsequently, a revisionary order was issued by the PCIT (Central), Patna, under Section 263 on March 23, 2021. This led to fresh assessment proceedings under Section 263 read with Section 144, concluding on February 21, 2022, with an assessed income of ₹4,50,000. During these proceedings, penalty actions were initiated under Section 271(1)(b) for the trust’s failure to comply with a notice. Consequently, the Assessing Officer imposed a penalty of ₹10,000 on August 30, 2022.
