Sec. 234E of Income Tax Act, 1961—Late Fee—In absence of any allegation that A.O. has violated any of the provisions of Section 234E or Section 200A, the adjustment made by the A.O. on account of late filing fee U/s 234E cannot be deleted.

Facts: The assessee challenged the action of the A.O. by filing the appeal before CIT(A) and contended that the A.O. was not justified in levying the late fee U/s 234E when the assessee duly deducted TDS and paid to the account of the central government within time but due to the circumstances as explained by the assessee, the assessee could not submit/deliver quarterly statement within the period stipulated as per Rule 31A. The assessee has raised various grounds of challenging the order of the A.O. for levying the late fee U/s 234E while issuing the intimation U/s 154.

Held, that since the levy of late fee as prescribed U/s 234E is mandatory and consequential, therefore, the same cannot be deleted on the ground of reasonable cause as explained by the assessee. It is pertinent to mention that though the intimation issued U/s 200A is an appealable order, however, the said order can be challenged only on the ground that the adjustment made by the A.O. or intimation issued U/s 200A is not in accordance with the provisions of Section 234E or Section 200A. Only if the A.O. has failed to comply with the mandatory provisions of these Sections while making the adjustment and issuing the intimation, the same can be challenged in the appeal. In absence of any such allegation that the A.O. has violated any of the provisions of Section 234E or Section 200A, the adjustment made by the A.O. on account of late filing fee U/s 234E cannot be deleted. Accordingly, all the appeals of the assessee are dismissed. - BLOCK DEVELOPMENT OFFICER V/s ASSTT. CIT - [2020] 26 ITCD Online 078 (ITAT-JAIPUR)