Karnataka Grameena Bank Vs ITO (ITAT Bangalore)
In Karnataka Grameena Bank vs ITO, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Bangalore Bench, dealt with appeals filed by the assessee for multiple assessment years (2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, and 2019–20) against orders of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), which upheld TDS liability under Sections 201(1) and 201(1A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
The assessee, a banking company, was subjected to a TDS survey to verify compliance. During assessment, the Assessing Officer found that Forms 15G/15H submitted by the assessee for non-deduction of tax on interest payments were defective. It was also alleged that there was no evidence to show that these forms had been submitted to the prescribed authority. Consequently, the Assessing Officer treated the case as one of short deduction of tax and levied differential TDS along with interest.
The assessee challenged this before the CIT(A), contending that additional time should have been granted to produce or rectify the forms. However, the CIT(A) dismissed the appeals, holding that no valid and complete declarations were filed and that the law does not permit retrospective correction through post-facto submission of Forms 15G/15H.
Before the Tribunal, the assessee argued that sufficient opportunity had not been provided to rectify defects in the forms. It further submitted that it had filed TDS statements in Form 26Q electronically under Rule 31A and produced acknowledgment copies and related documents as evidence of compliance. These documents, however, had not been placed before the Assessing Officer or the CIT(A), and therefore were not considered at earlier stages.
