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2022 (4) TMI 1072 - ITAT BANGALORELevy of penalty u/s. 271(1)(C) - excess expenses disallowed - Authorities below rejected the reasonable explanation offered by the assessee that the assessee had not concealed any income and had declared the entire income and the addition made was due to mistake committed by the chartered accountant who had been engaged by the assessee and consequently there was no concealment - HELD THAT:- Under Section 271(1)(c), two faults or omissions exposes the assessee to concealment penalty i.e. concealment of particulars of income and furnishing inaccurate particulars of such income. Assessee has admitted before the AO that the new auditor appointed, had pointed out certain mistakes in the expenses claimed by the assessee and submitted the revised computation correcting the wrong claim work-in-progress as expenditure. This fact is being confirmed by the AO in the assessment order. Assessee has filed a complaint before the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India against the auditor who had filed the original return of income of the assessee. In our considered view, in the instant case, what has emerged is that the assessee, having realised that the expenditure claimed was not tenable as pointed out by the new auditors, offered the amounts expended to be added to the income and, accordingly, paid the requisite tax. This was not a case in our opinion, where, the assessee could be said to have either concealed particulars or furnished inaccurate particulars of the income. It was, essentially, a case, where, an untenable claim for deduction of work-in progress had been made and that too based on the advice of a professional, i.e., Chartered Accountant. The explanation to section 271(1) provides that the penalty under subsection (c) is leviable when the person fails to prove that the explanation of facts is bona fide. In assessee’s case the wrong claim of the expenditure is not intentional and is based on a wrong professional advice. The fact that once the assessee is pointed out the error, the assessee has admitted the same before the AO and paid taxes is proof enough that there is no intentional concealment. The coordinate bench of the Tribunal is assessee’s own case [2022 (1) TMI 330 - ITAT BANGALORE] has examined the claim of the assessee with regard to wrong professional advice and had deleted the penalty u/s.271B stating that it is a ‘reasonable cause’. The assessee in the present appeal also contending the levy of penalty on the same premise that the assessee was under the bona fide belief that the accounts are maintained properly by the auditor and that there is no intention to conceal the income. In our view therefore, the ratio laid down by the coordinate bench of the Tribunal is applicable in the present case of the assessee. The delay in furnishing the revised computation is also considered by the coordinate bench of the Tribunal where the Hon’ble Tribunal has taken cognizance of the fact that severing relationship with earlier CA might take time. We are of the view that the claim of the expenditure by the assessee is bona fide and accordingly, we set aside the order passed by Ld CIT(A) and direct the AO to delete the penalty levied u/s 271B(1)(c) for the year under consideration. Appeal of assessee allowed.
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