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2016 (5) TMI 467 - AT - Income TaxLevy of 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. As intimation under section 200A, raising a demand or directing a refund to the tax deductor, can only be passed within one year from the end of the financial year within which the related TDS statement is filed and that time has already elapsed and the defect is thus not curable even at this stage. In view of these discussions, as also bearing in mind entirety of the case, 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.
Issues involved:
1. Challenge against the imposition of late filing fees under section 234E of the Income Tax Act. Detailed Analysis: The appellant contested the late filing fees of ?32,020 imposed by the Revenue authorities, claiming the correct amount to be ?30,916 for Quarter-3 of the relevant year. The Tribunal allowed the appellant's submission, adjusting the amount accordingly. The primary issue in dispute was the levy of late filing fees of ?30,916 by the assessing officer under section 234E for the delay in filing the quarterly TDS statement for the financial year 2012-13. The appellant argued that a similar issue was decided in their favor by the ITAT in a previous case, citing the decision in the case of Sibia Healthcare P. Ltd. vs. DCIT. The Tribunal referred to the provisions of section 234E, inserted by the Finance Act 2012, which imposes a fee for defaults in furnishing statements. The Tribunal also discussed section 200A, which governs the processing of tax deducted at source statements. It highlighted the amendment made in 2015, enabling the computation of fees under section 234E during the processing of TDS statements post-June 2015. The Tribunal concluded that the adjustment for late fee under section 234E was beyond the permissible scope of adjustments under section 200A as it stood before June 2015. It emphasized that the intimation under section 200A could only be issued within one year from the filing of the TDS statement. As the impugned order was issued before the relevant amendment, the Tribunal ruled in favor of the appellant, deleting the late filing fees. The Departmental Representative did not provide any contradictory judgments or arguments to challenge the Tribunal's decision. Consequently, the Tribunal upheld the appeal, deleting the fee of ?30,916 imposed under section 234E of the Act. The decision was pronounced on 1st April 2016 in Ahmedabad.
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