1 week ago
Form 16 Delay Leads To ₹3.74 Lakh Penalty Win
Pravesh Aggarwal changed jobs and did not get Form 16 from his earlier employer in time.
Because of this, he did not file his income-tax return by the deadline.
Tax had already been deducted from his salary and was visible in Form 26AS.
Aggarwal believed this meant his tax work was complete.
The tax department later reopened his case and asked him to file a return.
He filed it and reported income of ₹30.22 lakh.
The tax officer then imposed a ₹3.74 lakh penalty.
Aggarwal challenged the penalty at ITAT Delhi.
The tribunal said he had not hidden income or reported less than he actually earned, so it cancelled the penalty.
Pravesh Aggarwal did not file his original ITR after changing jobs and not receiving Form 16 from his former employer.
His employers’ TDS appeared in Form 26AS, leading him to believe his salary-tax obligations had been fulfilled.
The Income Tax Department reopened his assessment under Section 147 after an April 19, 2023, Section 148A(d) order.
Aggarwal filed an ITR on May 8, 2023, declaring total income of ₹30.22 lakh, but the Assessing Officer imposed a ₹3.74 lakh penalty.
ITAT Delhi deleted the penalty, ruling that Aggarwal had not reported less income than he actually earned or misrepresented facts.
- Who
- Pravesh Aggarwal, the Income Tax Department, the Assessing Officer, and ITAT Delhi.
- What
- ITAT Delhi cancelled a ₹3.74 lakh penalty imposed after Aggarwal failed to file his original ITR by the deadline.
- Where
- The case was decided by ITAT Delhi; Aggarwal was identified as a salaried employee from Indirapuram, Ghaziabad.
- When
- The Section 148A(d) order was issued on April 19, 2023; Aggarwal filed his ITR on May 8, 2023; the supplied report says the tribunal ruling came on May 13, 2026.
- Why
- The tribunal found that his declared income was accepted, was not lower than his actual income, and was already reflected through TDS in Form 26AS.
Aggarwal’s position
Income Tax Department’s position
Reason for missing the deadline
Aggarwal’s position
Aggarwal said he could not obtain Form 16 from his former employer after changing jobs and genuinely believed that TDS shown in Form 26AS had fulfilled his tax obligations.
Income Tax Department’s position
The department treated the failure to file the original ITR by the prescribed deadline as grounds for penalty proceedings.
Whether income was under-reported
Aggarwal’s position
Aggarwal argued that his income and TDS were already available to the department and that he had not concealed or misrepresented income.
Income Tax Department’s position
The department argued that, without the notice under Section 148, Aggarwal might not have filed his return and his salary and interest income could have escaped taxation.
Penalty liability
Aggarwal’s position
Aggarwal challenged the Assessing Officer’s penalty and the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)’s decision to uphold it.
Income Tax Department’s position
The Assessing Officer imposed the ₹3.74 lakh penalty under Section 270A, and the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) upheld it before ITAT Delhi reversed the outcome.
Key facts
- Taxpayer
- Pravesh Aggarwal, a salaried employee from Indirapuram, Ghaziabad
- Income declared
- ₹30.22 lakh
- ITR filing date
- May 8, 2023
- Penalty
- ₹3.74 lakh, described as 50% of the tax on the alleged under-reported income
- Assessment provisions
- Section 147, following an order under Section 148A(d) dated April 19, 2023
- Penalty provision
- Section 270A of the Income Tax Act
- Outcome
- ITAT Delhi deleted the penalty
Sources
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