Advik Hi-Tech Pvt. Ltd. Vs DCIT (ITAT Pune)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Pune Bench has overturned a penalty of Rs. 3,27,993/- levied under Section 270A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, on Advik Hi-Tech Pvt. Ltd. for the Assessment Year (AY) 2017-18. The Tribunal concluded that the non-disclosure of interest on income tax refund in the original return was an “inadvertent and bona fide error” and did not amount to “under-reporting” of income as defined by the Act.
The case involved Advik Hi-Tech Pvt. Ltd., which had filed its original income tax return on November 28, 2017, declaring a total income of Rs. 36,98,30,710/-. Subsequently, the case was reopened under Section 147 of the Act because the company had received Rs. 32,20,796/- as interest on an income tax refund, which was not offered for tax in the original return.
In response to a notice under Section 148 dated July 25, 2022, the assessee filed a revised Income Tax Return (ITR), declaring an enhanced total income of Rs. 38,31,53,640/-. This enhanced income included an additional amount of Rs. 21,22,930/- under the head ‘income from other sources’, which was the interest on income tax refund. The reassessment was completed by the Assessing Officer (AO) on February 11, 2023, without making any further additions or disallowances to the income declared in the revised return.
