9911796707
|
Home
Issues involved: Appeal against levy of penalty u/s 271B for assessment year 2008-09.
Summary: The taxpayer, a civil contractor, appealed against the penalty imposed for not maintaining books of account and not auditing them. The taxpayer argued that since no books of account were prescribed for civil contractors by the CBDT, they should not be penalized for not maintaining them. The CIT(A) had previously deleted the penalty u/s 271A for not maintaining books of account. The taxpayer's representative cited judgments from the Karnataka High Court and various Tribunal benches to support their case. The Departmental Representative (DR) contended that since the taxpayer's receipts exceeded the limits u/s 44AB, they were required to obtain an audit report, regardless of whether books of account were maintained. The Tribunal examined the provisions of section 44AA, which mandate maintaining books of account for businesses exceeding specified income thresholds. It noted an omission in Rule 6F of the Income-tax Rules regarding the prescription of books of account for civil contractors. The Tribunal opined that this was an unintended oversight by the executive authorities, as the legislature expected even civil contractors to maintain books of account. Citing precedents, the Tribunal found that penalties for not maintaining books of account were unjustified when such books were not prescribed. It emphasized that the omission in Rule 6F could be rectified by the department notifying the CBDT. Ultimately, the Tribunal set aside the lower authorities' orders and deleted the penalty u/s 271B, ruling in favor of the taxpayer. The appeal of the taxpayer was allowed, and the penalty was revoked.
|
