2014 (7) TMI 965 - HC - Income Tax

Cancellation of penalty u/s 271B No assessment proceedings pending Failure to record satisfaction by AO - Held that - The satisfaction as to the assessee having concealed the particulars of his income or furnished inaccurate particulars of such income is to be arrived at by the AO during the course of any proceedings under the Act, which would mean the assessment proceedings, without which, the jurisdiction to initiate the penalty proceedings is not conferred on the assessing authority by reference to clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 271 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 - Following the decision in C.I.T. Vs. Ram Commercial Enterprises Ltd. 1998 (10) TMI 13 - DELHI High Court - thus, no penalty is levied u/s 271B of the Act when AO failed to record its satisfaction in the assessment order pertaining to it Decided against Revenue.

Summary

Issues:
1. Whether the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was legally correct in canceling the penalty imposed under Section 271-B?
2. Whether the penalty proceedings were initiated at the appropriate time during the assessment proceedings?
3. Whether the Assessing Officer recorded the necessary satisfaction before initiating penalty proceedings?

Analysis:

Issue 1:
The department appealed against the cancellation of a penalty under Section 271-B for the assessment year 1987-88. The Tribunal canceled the penalty, leading to the department's appeal. The key contention was whether the penalty was justified due to non-compliance with audit report requirements under Section 44AB.

Issue 2:
The Tribunal observed that the Assessing Officer did not mention the penalty in the assessment order, raising doubts about the validity of initiating penalty proceedings. Citing legal precedents like C.I.T. Vs. Ram Commercial Enterprises Ltd., it was emphasized that the Assessing Officer must form an opinion during assessment proceedings to confer jurisdiction for penalty initiation.

Issue 3:
Legal principles from cases like C.I.T. vs. Auto Lamps Ltd. and C.I.T. Vs. Vikas Promoters P. Ltd. were cited to highlight the requirement for the Assessing Officer to record satisfaction before levying penalties under Section 271. The court stressed that penalty provisions are penal in nature and must be strictly construed, with satisfaction being apparent from the assessment order itself.

The judgment concluded that since the Assessing Officer did not record satisfaction in the assessment order regarding the penalty, there was no legal basis for imposing the penalty under Section 271-B. The court upheld the Tribunal's decision to cancel the penalty, citing established legal principles and precedents. Consequently, the appeal filed by the department was dismissed, ruling in favor of the assessee and against the department.