HARI MOHAN AND SONS,MUZAFFARNAGAR V. INCOME TAX OFFICER, WARD - 3(2)(1), MUZAFFARNAGAR

ITA 2983/DEL/2024

AI Insights

The case involves Hari Mohan and Sons, a Hindu Undivided Family, which appealed against a penalty imposed by the Income-tax Officer for not filing the income tax return (ITR) for the Assessment Year 2013-14 as required under section 139(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Assessing Officer had levied a penalty of Rs 5000, which was sustained by the CIT(A). However, the Tribunal found that the assessee had filed the ITR on 21.02.2014, declaring an income of Rs.1,91,230 along with agricultural income, thus reversing the decision of the lower authorities and deleting the penalty.

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 34021 (ITAT-DELHI)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 12-02-2025
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Allowed
• Bench Allotted: B
• Assessment Year: 2013-2014
• Laws Referred To: Income-tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Department Lawyers: RAJESH KUMAR DHANESTA
• Assessee Lawyers: ANKIT GUPTA
• Keywords: Reasonable cause
• Section: 148; 139(1); 139; 139(5)

Judgement Text

"ITA No. 2983/DEL/2024 [A.Y. 2013-14] Hari Mohan and Sons Vs.The Income-tax Officer IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, DELHI ‘B’ BENCH, NEW DELHI BEFORE SHRI SUDHIR KUMAR, JUDICIAL MEMBER, AND SHRI NAVEEN CHANDRA, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER ITA No. 2983/DEL/2024 [A.Y. 2013-14] Hari Mohan and Sons Vs. The Income-tax Officer 959, Sanjay Marg, Ward -3(2)(1) Gandhi Nagar Muzaffarnagar Muzaffarnagar PAN: AAAHH 5136 C (Applicant) (Respondent) Assessee By : Shri Ankit Gupta, Adv Department By : Shri Rajesh Kumar Dhanesta, SR. DR Date of Hearing : 04.02.2025 Date of Pronouncement : 12.02.2025 ORDER PER NAVEEN CHANDRA, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER:- This appeal by the assessee is preferred against the order of the NFAC, Delhi dated 31.05.2024 for A.Y 2013-14. 2 2. The solitary grievance raised by the assessee vide 5 grounds of appeal is that imposition of penalty u/s 271F of the Income-tax Act, 1961 [the Act, for short] is bad in law and without jurisdiction. 3. Brief facts of the case are that the Assessing Officer observed that the assessee company did not file return of income for the A.Y 2013-14 as per requirement of section 139(1) of the Act. The Assessing Officer held that as the assessee failed to furnish reasonable cause for non filing of its ITR in accordance with the provisions of section 139 of the Act, he has violated the provisions of section 271F and accordingly levied a penalty of Rs 5000/-. 4. Aggrieved, the assessee went in appeal before the ld. CIT(A) who held that as the assessee was non-filer and has not filed return for AY 2013-14 u/s 139, sustained the penalty u/s 271F. 5. Now the assessee has come in appeal before us against this levy of penalty. 6. Before us, the ld counsel of the assessee vehemently submitted that the assessee is a Hindu Undivided Family and has declared income from Partnership Firm M/s Khurana and Company, Trading Business, 3 Interest from Saving Bank Account, Profit of Sale of Rural Agriculture Land and Agriculture Income. The ld AR argued that the CIT(A) has wrongly assumed that the assessee is a non-filer whereas the assessee has filed the Return of Income for AY 2013-14 on 21.02.2014 declaring income of Rs.1,91,230.00 along with Agriculture Income at Rs.50,000.00. 7. The ld AR stated that the AO has issued the notice dated 31 March, 2021 u/s 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for the year under consideration and re-assessed the income at Rs 13,81,230/-. The ld AR stated that assessing officer subsequently initiated the penalty proceedings u/s 271F on the basis that the assessee, having a taxable income for the year, was required to furnish the return of income as required u/s 139(1). The ld AR submitted that the AO held that as the assessee has failed to furnished such return before the end of relevant assessment year, initiated and imposed the penalty of Rs.5,000.00 by passing the impugned order dated 31.08.2022 which is highly arbitrary, unjustified and against the provision of the Act and should be deleted. 8. Per contra, the ld DR relied on the orders of the authorities below. 4 9. Having heard the rival submissions, we find that the assessee has filed its Return of Income for AY 2013-14 on 21.02.2014, a fact recorded by the AO in its assessment order u/s 143(3)/147 dated 31.03.2022. We find that the assessee filed the return of income as per the provision of the section 139 of the Act within the time limit provided under the Act. We therefore, are of the view that the CIT(A) wrongly held the assessee to be a non filer. We find that as the assessee has filed its Return of Income u/s 139(5) within time prescribed under the Act, the assessee can not be visited with the mischief of penalty under section 271F. We, therefore, allow the grounds of appeal raised by the assessee and delete the penalty of Rs 5000/-. 10. In the result, the appeal of the assessee in ITA No. 2983/DEL/2024 is allowed. The order is pronounced in the open court on 12.02.2025. Sd/- Sd/- [SUDHIR KUMAR] [NAVEEN CHANDRA] JUDICIAL MEMBER ACCOUNTANT MEMBER Dated: 12th FEBRUARY, 2025. VL/ 5 Copy forwarded to: 1. Appellant 2. Respondent 3. CIT 4. CIT(A) Asst. Registrar, 5. DR ITAT, New Delhi Sl No. PARTICULARS DATES 1. Date of dictation of Tribunal Order… 06.02.2025 2. Date on which the typed draft Tribunal Order is placed before the Dictation Member 06.02.2025 3. Date on which the fair Tribunal Order is placed before the Dictating Member for pronouncement 4. Date on which the approved draft Tribunal Order comes to the Sr. P.S./P.S. 5. Date on which the fair Tribunal Order is placed before the Dictating Member for pronouncement 6. Date on which the signed order comes back to the Sr. P.S./P.S 7. Date on which the final Tribunal Order is uploaded by the Sr. P.S./P.S. on official website 8. Date on which the file goes to the Bench Clerk alongwith Tribunal Order 9. Date of killing off the disposed of files on the judiSIS portal of ITAT by the Bench Clerks 10. Date on which the file goes to the Supervisor (Judicial 11. The date on which the file goes to the Assistant Registrar for endorsement of the order 12. Date of Despatch of the Order "