Case Law Details
Mukesh Pathak Vs ITO (ITAT Jaipur)
Introduction: The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Jaipur recently ruled in favor of Mukesh Pathak in a case against the Income Tax Officer (ITO), deleting a penalty for the appellant’s failure to file an Income Tax Return (ITR) within the stipulated time. The tribunal saw this as a bona fide mistake and noted that the revenue had not incurred any loss as the proper tax had already been paid.
Analysis: Mukesh Pathak was levied with a penalty of Rs. 5,000 by ITO under Section 271F for not filing his ITR within the prescribed limit as per Section 139(1) of the Act. The appellant’s income for the Assessment Year (AY) 2011-12 was Rs. 1,63,020, exceeding the basic limit for taxation of Rs.1,60,000 for that year. Hence, he was mandatorily required to file the return of income.
Pathak contested the penalty, arguing that he held a bona fide belief that he was not required to file the return as his income was below the basic limit. Furthermore, he claimed a Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) of Rs. 585 and a refund of Rs. 270, implying that there was no loss to the revenue due to his delay in filing the return.
Upon hearing both parties and considering the evidence on record, the ITAT agreed with the appellant’s defense. The tribunal observed that the appellant’s mistake was bona fide and did not cause any loss to the revenue since the correct tax amount had already been paid.
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