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Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, DELHI BENCH : C : NEW DELHI
Before: SHRI C.M. GARG & SHRI PRADIP KUMAR KEDIA
ORDER
PER C.M. GARG, JM:
This appeal filed by the assessee is directed against the order dated 28.06.2018 of the CIT(A)-2, Gurgaon, relating to Assessment Year 2013-14.
The sole issue in this appeal pertains to the order of the ACIT, CPC (TDS), Ghaziabad, passed u/s 154 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (for short, ‘the Act’) pertaining to levy of late fee of different amount under section 234E of the Act vide intimation u/s 200A of the Act raising the demand of fee u/s 234E of the Act.
We have perused the first appellate order as well as the order passed under Section 234E of the Act. The Revenue has imposed late fee under Section 234E of the Act for default in furnishing TDS return within time stipulated in law.
The machinery provision of Section 200A of the Act provides for processing of statement of tax deducted at source which has been amended by the Financial Act, 2015 w.e.f. 01.06.2015 and new clauses (c) and (d) has been inserted in Section 200A of the Act. By virtue of such amendment, while processing of TDS statement, the late fee, if any shall be computed in accordance with provisions of Section 234E of the Act. As a corollary, prior to amendment under Section 200A of the Act, levy of fee under Section 234E during processing of TDS statement is not tenable.
Since the amendment has been inserted under Section 200A of the Act w.e.f. 01.06.2015, the default committed by the assessee, if any, prior to the amendment will not attract fee under Section 234E of the Act.
The captioned appeal involving levy of late filing fee under Section 234E is in relation to period prior to 01.06.2015. Thus, late filing fee under Section 234E is contrary to the legislative mandate as well as plethora of decisions of the Co-ordinate Bench of Delhi Tribunal binding upon the AO. The Co-ordinate Bench of Delhi ITAT in the case of Raj Veer Singh vs. ACIT-CPC-TDS order dated 09.07.2021 has decided the issue in favour of the Assessee. 2
Since the demand under charging Section 234E for late filing of TDS return is arising from belated TDS statements filed prior to 01.06.2015, the impugned late fee imposed requires to be deleted.
In the result, the captioned appeal of the assessee is allowed.