Ajoy Sharma Vs DCIT (ITAT Jaipur)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) in Jaipur recently delivered a significant judgment in the case of Ajoy Sharma vs. Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (DCIT). The case revolves around the assessment year 2012-13, where Ajoy Sharma filed his return of income on 18th July 2014, declaring a total income of Rs. 13,87,801. However, after deductions under various sections like 80C, 80CCF, 80D, 80DD, and 80G, and claiming a loss under “Income from House Property,” the net taxable income stood at Rs. 10,58,800, with a refund claim of Rs. 54,810.
The return was filed after the prescribed time limit under Section 139(4) and was thus considered invalid. Upon receiving information about illegitimate deductions, the Revenue issued a notice under Section 148 on 26th March 2018. In response, Ajoy Sharma filed his income return on 9th June 2018, declaring an income of Rs. 14,09,150, which matched the assessment completed on 23rd August 2018. Despite this, penalty proceedings under Section 271(1)(c) were initiated, and a penalty of Rs. 2,16,520 was levied for allegedly concealing and furnishing inaccurate particulars of income.
In the first appeal, the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] upheld the penalty but reduced it from 200% to 100%. Ajoy Sharma challenged this decision, arguing that there was no difference between the returned and assessed income, and hence, no grounds for penalty.
