Case Law Details
Government Secondary School Principal Officer Vs ACIT (ITAT Jaipur)
The issue under consideration is whether the late filing fees u/s 234E can be deleted if there is a ‘reasonable cause’ for such default?
In the present case, the assessee is the Principal of Secondary School and responsible for deducting tax at source, depositing the same to the government account, and submitting quarterly TDS statement as required U/s 200(3) read with the proviso of the said Section. A late fee under section 234E was levied against the Assessee since there is a delay of 315 days in filing the quarterly TDS statement of Quarter No. 1 of F.Y. 2017-18 and consequently the A.O. The assessee claimed that due to some transfer postings of the Lower Division Clerk (LDC) as well as the teachers, looking after the matter, there was a delay in submitting the quarterly TDS statement of Quarter No. 1 of F.Y. 2017-18. It was claimed that since there was a reasonable cause for the delay, the levy should be deleted.
ITAT states that since the levy of late fee as prescribed U/s 234E of the Act is mandatory and consequential, therefore, the same cannot be deleted on the ground of reasonable cause as explained by the assessee. It is pertinent to mention that though the intimation issued U/s 200A of the Act is an appealable order, however, the said order can be challenged only on the ground that the adjustment made by the A.O. or intimation issued U/s 200A of the Act is not in accordance with the provisions of Section 234E or Section 200A of the Act. Only if the A.O. has failed to comply with the mandatory provisions of these Sections while making the adjustment and issuing the intimation, the same can be challenged in the appeal. In absence of any such allegation that the A.O. has violated any of the provisions of Section 234E or Section 200A of the Act, the adjustment made by the A.O. on account of late filing fee U/s 234E of the Act cannot be deleted. Hence, Appeal filed by assessee dismissed.
FULL TEXT OF THE ITAT JUDGEMENT
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