No Section 271B Penalty if books of account not maintained

Naveen Kumar Kaparthy Vs ITO (ITAT Hyderabad) In the instant case, when the books of account are not maintained, the AO did not initiate any proceedings for not maintaining the books of account. The AO obviously satisfied that the books of account were not maintained for good and sufficient reasons. When the AO accepted the fact that the books of account are not maintained, there is no reason for him to levy penalty u/s 271B of the Act. In view of the above observations, we set aside the order of CIT(A) and delete the penalty levied u/s 271B of the Act. FULL TEXT OF THE ITAT JUDGEMENT ITA No. ...