In DCIT v. Bhilai Steel Plant, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Raipur held that the assessee cannot be treated as an assessee-in-default for non-payment of TDS merely due to technical flaws.
Assessee, in the present case is a Government Company. Assessing Officer treated the assessee as an “assessee in default” for short payment/non-payment of TDS. The first appellate authority relying on the CBDT Instruction No.5/2013 dated 08.07.2013, concluded the matter in favour of the assessee and observed that the demand aroused merely due to mismatch in data furnished by the assessee by way of Quarterly TDS Return/Statement on one hand and that furnished by the bank or for that matter due to mismatch on processing of data by the computerized system in place.
Against the appellate order, the Revenue preferred an appeal before the ITAT.
Aligning with the findings of the first appellate authority, the division bench noticed that the Revenue does not have a case that the TDS collected by assessee has not been paid to the Government account. “The mismatch is only on account of processing of data by the computerized system, for which assessee cannot be penalised. The assessee, on the other hand had substantiated that it had deposited all the taxes that was deducted at source into the government account. There is no error in the conclusion of the CIT(A).”
Read the full text of the Order below.
