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TMI Blog2003 (6) TMI 176X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d accounts. The head office of the firm was situated at Calcutta and the business operations are at Deoghar. There was no operation at Calcutta and the tax audit report was completed at Deoghar itself. Sri B.L. Agarwal, advocate, looked after the income-tax affairs at Calcutta and every time the return together with all papers were sent to him at Calcutta for the needful. In support thereof the learned counsel for the assessee has enclosed an affidavit by Sri B.L. Agarwal filed before the AO together with the photocopies of the audit report for the asst. yrs. 1995-96 to 1999-2000 and also the photocopies of the returns filed for these years. The learned counsel for the assessee has also enclosed the copy of the bill issued by the chartered ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . vs. State of Orissa (1972) 83 ITR 26 (SC) wherein it was held that the penalty should not be imposed merely because it is imposable and if there is sufficient cause no penalty should be imposed only for technical and venial breach of law. Furthermore he relied on having filed the affidavit that it should not have been ignored as reported in Bata India Ltd. vs. Dy. CIT Ors. (1996) 217 ITR 871 (Cal). A mistake committed by the lawyer of the assessee on whom the assessee depends should not be held against the assessee as held by the various High Courts as reported in Concord of India Insurance Co. Ltd. vs. Smt. Nirmala Devi Ors. (1979) 118 ITR 507 (SC) and Manoj Ahuja (Minor) Anr. vs. IAC (1984) 43 CTR (P H) 229 : (1984) 150 ITR 696 (P ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ilable on record. On our careful perusal of the issue on hand, it transpires that the amendment to s. 44AB with effect from the asst. yr. 1995-96 made it mandatory for getting their accounts under s. 44AB to furnish a copy of such report with the return and to file the same before the due date of the filing of the return. The counsel for the assessee has clearly brought out this proposition that prior to the asst. yr. 1995-96 the assessee was required to obtain a report which subsequently was to be furnished along with the return. Here the returns have been filed along with the audit reports within the due date. The return was filed without the audit report for the asst. yr. 1998-99 inadvertently on account of failure on the part of the adv ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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