Vidya Global School vs JCIT

Captioned appeals have been filed by the same assessee, challenging the orders passed imposing penalty under Section  271C(1)(a) of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 for the assessment years 2014-15 to 2016-17.

We have heard the parties and perused the material available on record.

At the very outset, it is observed, present appeals have been filed by the assessee against orders dated 07.01.2019 passed by the Joint Commissioner of Income-Tax, International Taxation, Range-Noida, imposing penalty under Section 271C(1)(a) of the Act for three separate assessment years, as noted above. Thus, undisputedly, assessee has directly come before Tribunal against the penalty orders passed by the Joint CIT. The aforesaid factual position was not disputed by learned counsel appearing for the assessee.

On a careful reading of Section 253 of the Act, we are convinced that penalty order passed under Section 271C of the Act by the Joint CIT is not an appealable order before the Tribunal. Whereas, section 246A(1)(n) provides a remedy by way of appeal before learned Commissioner of Income-Tax(Appeals).

Thus, it is a fact on record that bypassing the first appellate forum, the assessee has directly came in appeal before the Tribunal. Therefore, prima facie, the present appeals are not maintainable. Accordingly, appeals are dismissed.

Having held so, we grant liberty to the assessee to file appeals before the learned Commissioner (Appeals), if so advised. In case, the assessee files the appeals before the first appellate authority, he may do well to condone the delay in filing the appeals, considering the fact that appeals were filed before a wrong forum. More so, when the orders passed under Section 201(1)/201(IA), which led the imposition of penalty under Section 271C of the Act, in the meanwhile, have been quashed by the Tribunal.

In the result, all the appeals are dismissed.