Levy of fee u/s 234E prior to 1st June 2015 is unsustainable

Eagle Flask Industries Pvt Ltd Vs DCIT (ITAT Pune)

ITAT Pune held that clause (c) of section 200A(1) was inserted by the Finance Act, 2015 w.e.f. 01-06-2015 providing for the levy of fee u/s.234E of the Act. Accordingly, levy of fee u/s. 234E is imposable only from 01/06/2015 and not prior to that.

Facts- The assessee is engaged in the business of manufacture and sale of Thermowares. The TDS returns for the respective quarters were filed belatedly. Based on that, the Assessing Officer (AO) levied late fees u/s.234E of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The assessee approached the ld. CIT(A) belatedly against the waiver of such fee. Since the appeals were time barred, the ld. CIT(A) did not condone the delay and dismissed them in limine.

Conclusion- Held that section 200A deals with processing of statements of tax deducted at source. Clause (c) of section 200A(1) was inserted by the Finance Act, 2015 w.e.f. 01-06-2015 providing for the levy of fee u/s.234E of the Act. In that view of the matter, such fee u/s.234E can be levied only for the default committed after 01-06-2015 and not prior to that. The Hon’ble Kerala High Court in Olari Little Flower Kuries Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Union of India and others (2022) 440 ITR 26 (Kerala) has affirmed the non-imposition of fee for the period prior to 01-06-2015.

FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT PUNE

Please become a Premium member. If you are already a Premium member, login here to access the full content.