Section 271A - Failure to keep, maintain or retain books of account, documents, etc. - Income-tax Act, 1961

1 [ Failure to keep, maintain or retain books of account, documents, etc. 271A. Without prejudice to the provisions of 7 [section 270A or] section 271, if any person 2 [***] fails to keep and maintain any such books of account and other documents as required by section 44AA or the rules made thereunder, in respect of any previous year or to retain such books of account and other documents for the period specified in the said rules, the 3 [Assessing] Officer or 8 [ the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or the Commissioner (Appeals) ] may direct that such person shall pay, by way of penalty, 6 [a sum of twenty-five thousand rupees]. ---------------------- Notes :- 1. Inserted by the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1975, w.e.f. 1-4-1976. 2. Words , without reasonable cause, omitted by the Taxation Laws (Amendment Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1986, w.e.f. 10-9-1986. 3. Substituted for Income-tax by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987, w.e.f. 1-4-1988. 4. Words Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) or the omitted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1998, w.e.f. 1-10-1998. Earlier Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) was substituted for Appellate Assistant Commissioner by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987, w.e.f. 1-4-1988 and or the was inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1977, w.e.f. 10-7-1978. 5. Inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1977, w.e.f. 10-7-1978. 6. Substituted for a sum which shall not be less than two thousand rupees but which may extend to one hundred thousand rupees by the Finance Act, 2001, w.e.f. 1-6-2001. Earlier, the quoted words were substituted for a sum which shall not be less than ten per cent but which shall not exceed fifty per cent of the amount of the tax, if any, which would have been avoided if the income returned by such person had been accepted as the correct income by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987, w.e.f. 1-4-1989. 7. Inserted vide THE FINANCE ACT, 2016 w.e.f. 1st day of April, 2017 8. Substituted vide THE FINANCE ACT, 2023 dated 31-03-2023 w.e.f. 01-04-2023 before it was read as, the 4 [***] 5 [Commissioner (Appeals)]