GODAVARI MARATHWADA IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION,AURANGABAD vs. INCOME TAX OFFCER, WARD-1(1), AURANGABAD, AURANGABAD

2 ITA.No.102/PUN./2024 2. Mr. Murkunde vehemently argued during the course of hearing that both the learned lower authorities have rightly imposed the impugned sec.271(1)(b) penalty(ies) of Rs.10,000/- each on account of assessee’s default in not having complied with the assessing authority(ies) sec.142(1) notice dated 29.09.2020 and 09.02.2021, 19.02. 2021, 15.07. 2021 and 11.082021, respectively. He sought to buttress the point that impugned penalty provision has been inserted in the Act as a deterrent for non-complied assessee(s) and therefore, the same is liable to be upheld in the facts of the instant case once the taxpayer herein has not shown any reasonable cause explaining it’s non-cooperation.

We have given our thoughtful consideration to the assessee’s pleadings and Revenue’s vehement stand. We make it clear first of all that the assessee is a Government corporation viz., Godavari Marathwada Irrigation Development Corporation. We note possibility of some communication gaps between the field authorities vis-à-vis decision makers could not be altogether ruled out, more particularly, in light of the fact that the assessee’s default period herein falling the peak of second wave of Covid-2019 pandemic outbreak during the period from September, 2020 to August, 2021, as the case may be. Coupled with this there is no indication in either of the learned lower authorities respective orders that the assessee’s alleged failure in not complying with sec.142(1) notice in any case prejudiced the corresponding

This assessee’s appeal is allowed in above terms.