2016 (4) TMI 1377 - AT - Income Tax

Levy of late filing fees under section 234E - intimation issued under section 200A in respect of processing of TDS - Held that - We find that the issue in all these appeals is now squarely covered in favour of the assessee by the decision of ITAT Amritsar Bench in the case of Sibia Healthcare Private Limited vs. DCIT 2015 (6) TMI 437 - ITAT AMRITSAR adjustment in respect of levy of fees under section 234E was indeed beyond the scope of permissible adjustments contemplated under section 200A. The impugned levy of fees under section 234E is unsustainable in law. We, therefore, delete the impugned levy of fee under section 234E of the Act. - Decided in favour of assessee.

Summary

Issues involved:
Late filing fee under section 234E for quarters 1 to 4 for the Assessment Years 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Analysis:
The assessee filed appeals against the orders of the ld.CIT(A) upholding late filing fees under section 234E of the Income Tax Act for the mentioned quarters and assessment years. The assessee argued that the issue is covered in their favor by a previous ITAT order in a similar case. The Tribunal referred to various High Court decisions and the provisions of section 234E, which imposes a fee for defaults in furnishing statements. The Tribunal also discussed section 200A, which was amended in 2015 to allow the computation of fees under section 234E during the processing of TDS statements. However, as the impugned order was issued before the amendment, the Tribunal found that the adjustment for late filing fees under section 234E was beyond the scope of permissible adjustments under section 200A at that time. Therefore, the Tribunal deleted the late filing fees imposed under section 234E for the relevant quarters and assessment years.

The Departmental Representative did not dispute the timeline of the impugned order being before the amendment to section 200A in 2015. The Tribunal, following previous judgments, upheld the assessee's appeals and deleted the late filing fees under section 234E for the quarters in question. The Tribunal noted that no other judgment was presented to counter their findings, and therefore, allowed the appeals and removed the late fees imposed under section 234E for the specified quarters and assessment years.

In conclusion, the Tribunal found that the adjustment for late filing fees under section 234E was not permissible under section 200A as it stood before the 2015 amendment. Therefore, the Tribunal allowed the appeals of the assessee and deleted the late filing fees for the relevant quarters and assessment years.