Prakashchand Vs ITO (ITAT Chennai)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Chennai decided a batch of four appeals concerning the levy of late-filing fee under Section 234E of the Income-tax Act for delayed filing of TDS statements for assessment years 2013-14 and 2014-15. The assessee, a tax deductor engaged in business activities requiring deduction of tax at source, had filed quarterly TDS statements belatedly. While processing these statements, CPC-TDS levied late-fee under Section 234E through intimations issued under Section 200A and subsequently sought to sustain the levy through rectification under Section 154, along with consequential interest under Section 220(2). The first appellate authority upheld the levy.
The Tribunal examined the statutory framework and noted that although Section 234E, providing for levy of late-fee for delayed TDS statements, was introduced with effect from 01.07.2012, the machinery provision enabling computation and adjustment of such fee at the time of processing TDS statements—Section 200A(1)(c)—was inserted only with effect from 01.06.2015. Prior to this date, Section 200A did not authorise computation or levy of fee under Section 234E while processing TDS returns. The Tribunal relied on binding judgments of the jurisdictional Madras High Court, including Sri Rujula International and True Blue Voice India Pvt. Ltd., which held that in the absence of an enabling provision in Section 200A, levy of late-fee under Section 234E through TDS processing was without authority of law for periods prior to 01.06.2015. The Tribunal also followed consistent coordinate bench decisions such as Gopuram Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. and M.F. Textiles Pvt. Ltd.
