PARTHAPRATIM DUTTA ROY,KOLKATA vs. DCIT, CIRCLE 61, , KOLKATA

IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL “D” BENCH, KOLKATA Before Shri Rajesh Kumar, Accountant Member and Shri Pradip Kumar Choubey, Judicial Member ITA No.456/KOL/2025 Assessment Year: 2017-18 Parthapratim Dutta Roy.......................................................................................Appellant 56A, Sought End Park, Golpark, Kolkata- 700029 [PAN No. ADXPD4649L] Vs. DCIT, Circle 61..................................…………..…………………....……….Respondent Income tax office, 9th floor, circle 61 169, AJC Bose Road, Kolkata- 700014 Appearances by: Parth Sen, Advocate, appeared on behalf of the Appellant. Praveen Das Chowdhury, (Sr. D.R),appeared on behalf of the Respondent. Date of concluding the hearing : July 13, 2026 Date of pronouncing theorder : July 23 ,2026 ORDER Per Pradip Kumar Choubey, Judicial Member: This appeal filed by the assessee is directed against the order dated 08.01.2025 of the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), passed under Section 270A of the Assessment Year 2017- 18 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”).

ITA No.456/Kol/2025 Assessment Year- 2017-18 for the assessment year 2017-18. The assessee subsequently, filed a revised return disclosing his income at Rs.50,32,890/- after claiming certain deductions allowable in law. In the assessment order passed u/s. 143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 on 11-12-2019, the Ld. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle 62, Kolkata computed the income derived from Salary at Rs. 60,82,165/-vis-à-vis Rs. 53,80,360/- as disclosed by the assessee in his revised return and the difference of Rs. 7,02,165/- was added to the total income of the assessee and as a corollary, penalty proceedings u/s. 270A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 was initiated alleging "...under-reporting of income inconsequence of misreporting of income." In compliance thereto, the appellant in his rejoinder explained that the claims of deduction and/or exemption in the revised return were made on a bona fide belief that they were allowable in law which was subsequently found to be wrong. However, the Ld. Assessing Officer was not impressed. He rejected such plausible explanation out of hand and passed an order dated 18-02-2022 imposing a penalty of Rs. 4,99,032/- being the 200% of the tax sought to be evaded by concluding that the assessee had as under-reported income by consequence of misreporting of income."

ITA No.456/Kol/2025 Assessment Year- 2017-18 Aggrieved by the said order, assessee preferred appeal before the CIT(A) wherein appeal of the assessee has been dismissed on the issue of the penalty-imposed u/s 270(A) of the Act.

Being aggrieved by and dissatisfied, assessee preferred appeal before us.

(i) Schneider Electric South East Asia (HQ) Pte Ltd. V. ACIT (IT) (2022) 443 ITR 186/213 DTR 134/326 CTR 374 (Delhi)(HC)

(ii) GE Capital US Holdings Inc. V. DCIT [163 taxmann.com 146 (Delhi)] as well as in the case of CIT v. Minu Bakshi (2022 SCC on line Delhi 4853)

ITA No.456/Kol/2025 Assessment Year- 2017-18 (iii) Order passed by the Coordinate Bench of the KOLKATA in ITA No. 1430/KOL/2025.

To, PARTHAPRATIM DUTTATORY 56A SOUGHT END PARTK, GOLPARK CALCUTTA 700029, West Bengal India

PAN: Assessme Notice No: Date: ADXPD4649 Year: ITBA/PNL/S/270A/201 nt 11/12/201 L 2017-18 9-20/1022157344(1) 9 Notice under section 274 read with section 270A of the Income Tax Act, 1961

Sir/Madam, 4

ITA No.456/Kol/2025 Assessment Year- 2017-18 Whereas in the course of proceedings before me for the Assessment 2017-18, Under-reporting and Year it appears to me misreporting of income.

You are hereby requested to appear before me either personally through a duly authorised representative at 01:49 PM on 05/02/2020 and show cause why an order imposing a penalty on you should not be made under section 270A of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

If you do not wish to avoid yourself of this opportunity of being heard in person or through authorised preventative, you may show cause in writing on or before the said date which will be considered before any such order is made under section 270A of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

5.1. Going over the Penalty order we find that it has been passed by observing thus- I levy penalty @ of 200% of the tax evaded under reporting of income in consequences of mis-reporting of income.We have already discussed that in the notice of penalty issued u/s 274r.w.s 270A it was mentioned under reporting and mis-reporting of the income. There are two limbs. It is a fact that there is no specific limbs has been mentioned in the notice in

ITA No.456/Kol/2025 Assessment Year- 2017-18 which penalty has been imposed. We have gone through the order passed by this coordinate bench in ITA No. 1430/25 and find that this Tribunal has observed thus:-

“...the imposition of penalty under section 271(1)(c) of the Act is bad in law and invalid for the reasons where the show cause notice under section 274 of the Act did not specify the charge against the assessee as to whether it is for concealment of particulars of income or furnishing of inaccurate particulars of income. The said decision of the High Court of Karnataka was affirmed by the 6

ITA No.456/Kol/2025 Assessment Year- 2017-18 Hon'ble Supreme Court in the decision reported in Commissioner of Income-tax v. SSA'S Emerald Meadows [2016] 73 taxmann.com 248/242 Taxman 180 (SC). On the same lines it is the decision of this court in Pr. CIT v Brijendra Kumar Poddar in [ITAT No. 215 of 2018, dated 23-11-2021]. As pointed out earlier, the show cause notice Gopal Banik issued under Section 274 read with Section 271 of the Act did not furnish any particulars and all the relevant columns have been left blank. Thus, by applying the legal position in the aforementioned decision, this court has no hesitation to hold that the show cause notice was bad in law consequently the initiation of penalty proceedings is vitiated."

Thus, for the above reasons, the appeals filed by the assessee are allowed and the substantial questions of law are answered in favour of the assessee."

7.1 We further find that in the case of St. Joseph's Educational Trust v. DCIT [2025] 175 taxmann.com 284 (Chennai-Trib.) wherein it was held as under:

Further to our discussion (supra) section 270A of the Act specifies two charges/faults i.e. (i) is 'underreporting of income' & (ii) is 'underreporting as a consequence of misreporting of income. Sub-sections 1-7 of section 270A deals with 'underreporting of income whereas sub-sections 8- 10 deals with 'underreporting as a consequence of

ITA No.456/Kol/2025 Assessment Year- 2017-18 misreporting of income For underreporting of income, penalty levied u/s 270A of the Act is sum equal to 50% of the amount of tax payable on the 'underreported income' whereas for 'misreporting of income, it shall be equal to 200% of the amount taxable on the 'underreported income. Therefore, we find that as per the scheme of sec 270A of the Act itself it shows that there are two distinct faults/lapses for which different consequences/penalty is levied. Therefore, the AO was duty bound to put the assessee on notice as to which charge/lapse/fault which is alleged against him, so that assessee can defend it in accordance to law. According to us, the assessee should have been informed in the SCN with certainty and accurately of the exact nature of the fault alleged against it, which is absent in this case. Therefore, SCN proposing penalty are found to be vague and doesn't satisfy the requirement of law and therefore, consequent levy of penalty is fragile in the eyes of law and is held to be ab initio void. Thus, assessee's appeal for AY 2018-19 & AY 2019-20 are allowed i.e. ITA Nos. 3293, 3295 & 3296/Chny/2024 and the penalty imposed for these three (3) appeals are directed to be deleted.

ITA No.456/Kol/2025 Assessment Year- 2017-18

In the result, appeal of the assessee is hereby allowed.

Kolkata, the 23th July , 2026.

Sd/- Sd/- [Rajesh Kumar] [Pradip Kumar Choubey] Accountant Member Judicial Member

DC Dated: 23.07.2026.

Copy of the order forwarded to: 1. Appellant - 2. Respondent - 3. CIT(A)- 4. CIT- 5. CIT(DR)

//True copy// By order Assistant Registrar, Kolkata Benches

ITA No.456/Kol/2025 Assessment Year- 2017-18