Income Tax
Section - 275A, Income Tax Act, 1961-2021
CHAPTER XXII
OFFENCES AND PROSECUTIONS
Contravention of order made under sub-section (3) of section 132.
275A. Whoever contravenes any order referred to in the second proviso to sub- section (1) or sub-section (3) of section 132 shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment which may extend to two years and shall also be liable to fine.
Income Tax
Section - 275, Income Tax Act, 1961-2021
Bar of limitation for imposing penalties.
275. (1) No order imposing a penalty under this Chapter shall be passed—
(a) in a case where the relevant assessment or other order is the subject-matter of an appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) under section 246 or section 246A or an appeal to the Appellate Tribunal under section 253, after the expiry of the financial year in which the proceedings, in the course of which action for the imposition of penalty has been initiated, are completed, or six months from the end of the month in which the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) or, as the case may be, the Appellate Tribunal is received by the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, whichever period expires later :
Provided that in a case where the relevant assessment or other order is the subject-matter of an appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) under section 246 or section 246A, and the Commissioner (Appeals) passes the order on or after the 1st day of June, 2003 disposing of such appeal, an order imposing penalty shall be passed before the expiry of the financial year in which the proceedings, in the course of which action for imposition of penalty has been initiated, are completed, or within one year from the end of the financial year in which the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) is received by the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, whichever is later;
(b) in a case where the relevant assessment or other order is the subject-matter of revision under section 263 or section 264, after the expiry of six months from the end of the month in which such order of revision is passed;
(c) in any other case, after the expiry of the financial year in which the proceedings, in the course of which action for the imposition of penalty has been initiated, are completed, or six months from the end of the month in which action for imposition of penalty is initiated, whichever period expires later.
(1A) In a case where the relevant assessment or other order is the subject-matter of an appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) under section 246 or section 246A or an appeal to the Appellate Tribunal under section 253 or an appeal to the High Court under section 260A or an appeal to the Supreme Court under section 261 or revision under section 263 or section 264 and an order imposing or enhancing or reducing or cancelling penalty or dropping the proceedings for the imposition of penalty is passed before the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) or the Appellate Tribunal or the High Court or the Supreme Court is received by the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner or the order of revision under section 263 or section 264 is passed, an order imposing or enhancing or reducing or cancelling penalty or dropping the proceedings for the imposition of penalty may be passed on the basis of assessment as revised by giving effect to such order of the Commissioner (Appeals) or, the Appellate Tribunal or the High Court, or the Supreme Court or order of revision under section 263 or section 264:
Provided that no order of imposing or enhancing or reducing or cancelling penalty or dropping the proceedings for the imposition of penalty shall be passed—
(a) unless the assessee has been heard, or has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard;
(b) after the expiry of six months from the end of the month in which the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) or the Appellate Tribunal or the High Court or the Supreme Court is received by the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner or the order of revision under section 263 or section 264 is passed:
Provided further that the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 274 shall apply in respect of the order imposing or enhancing or reducing penalty under this sub-section.
(2) The provisions of this section as they stood immediately before their amendment by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987 (4 of 1988), shall apply to and in relation to any action initiated for the imposition of penalty on or before the 31st day of March, 1989.
Explanation.—In computing the period of limitation for the purposes of this section,—
(i) the time taken in giving an opportunity to the assessee to be reheard under the proviso to section 129;
(ii) any period during which the immunity granted under section 245H remained in force; and
(iii) any period during which a proceeding under this Chapter for the levy of penalty is stayed by an order or injunction of any court,
shall be excluded.
Income Tax
Section - 274, Income Tax Act, 1961-2021
Procedure.
274. (1) No order imposing a penalty under this Chapter shall be made unless the assessee has been heard, or has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
(2) No order imposing a penalty under this Chapter shall be made—
(a) by the Income-tax Officer, where the penalty exceeds ten thousand rupees;
(b) by the Assistant Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner, where the penalty exceeds twenty thousand rupees,
except with the prior approval of the Joint Commissioner.
10[(2A) The Central Government may make a scheme, by notification in the Official Gazette, for the purposes of imposing penalty under this Chapter so as to impart greater efficiency, transparency and accountability by—
(a) eliminating the interface between the 11[income-tax authority and the assessee or any other person] to the extent technologically feasible;
(b) optimising utilisation of the resources through economies of scale and functional specialisation;
(c) introducing a mechanism for imposing of penalty with dynamic jurisdiction in which penalty shall be imposed by one or more income-tax authorities.
(2B) The Central Government may, for the purposes of giving effect to the scheme made under sub-section (2A), by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that any of the provisions of this Act relating to jurisdiction and procedure for imposing penalty shall not apply or shall apply with such exceptions, modifications and adaptations as may be specified in the notification:
Provided that no direction shall be issued after the 31st day of March, 2022.
(2C) Every notification issued under sub-section (2A) and sub-section (2B) shall, as soon as may be after the notification is issued, be laid before each House of Parliament.
(3) An income-tax authority on making an order under this Chapter imposing a penalty, unless he is himself the Assessing Officer, shall forthwith send a copy of such order to the Assessing Officer.
Income Tax
Section - 273B, Income Tax Act, 1961-2021
Penalty not to be imposed in certain cases.
273B. Notwithstanding anything contained in the provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 271, section 271A, section 271AA, section 271B, section 271BA, section 271BB, section 271C, section 271CA, section 271D, section 271E, section 271F, section 271FA, section 271FAB, section 271FB, section 271G, section 271GA, section 271GB, section 271H, section 271-I, section 271J, clause (c) or clause (d) of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 272A, sub-section (1) of section 272AA or section 272B or sub-section (1) or sub-section (1A) of section 272BB or sub-section (1) of section 272BBB or clause (b) of sub-section (1) or clause (b) or clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 273, no penalty shall be imposable on the person or the assessee, as the case may be, for any failure referred to in the said provisions if he proves that there was reasonable cause for the said failure.
Income Tax
Section - 273AA, Income Tax Act, 1961-2021
Power of Principal Commissioner or Commissioner to grant immunity from penalty.
273AA. (1) A person may make an application to the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner for granting immunity from penalty, if—
(a) he has made an application for settlement under section 245C and the proceedings for settlement have abated under section 245HA; and
(b) the penalty proceedings have been initiated under this Act.
(2) The application to the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner under sub-section (1) shall not be made after the imposition of penalty after abatement.
(3) The Principal Commissioner or Commissioner may, subject to such conditions as he may think fit to impose, grant to the person immunity from the imposition of any penalty under this Act, if he is satisfied that the person has, after the abatement, co-operated with the income-tax authority in the proceedings before him and has made a full and true disclosure of his income and the manner in which such income has been derived.
(3A) The order under sub-section (3), either accepting or rejecting the application in full or in part, shall be passed within a period of twelve months from the end of the month in which the application under the said sub-section is received by the Principal Commissioner or the Commissioner:
Provided that no order rejecting the application, either in full or in part, shall be passed unless the assessee has been given an opportunity of being heard:
Provided further that where any application is pending as on the 1st day of June, 2016, the order shall be passed on or before the 31st day of May, 2017.
(4) The immunity granted to a person under sub-section (3) shall stand withdrawn, if such person fails to comply with any condition subject to which the immunity was granted and thereupon the provisions of this Act shall apply as if such immunity had not been granted.
(5) The immunity granted to a person under sub-section (3) may, at any time, be withdrawn by the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, if he is satisfied that such person had, in the course of any proceedings, after abatement, concealed any particulars material to the assessment from the income-tax authority or had given false evidence, and thereupon such person shall become liable to the imposition of any penalty under this Act to which such person would have been liable, had not such immunity been granted.
Income Tax
Section - 273A, Income Tax Act, 1961-2021
Power to reduce or waive penalty, etc., in certain cases.
273A. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Principal Commis-sioner or Commissioner may, in his discretion, whether on his own motion or otherwise,—
(i) [***]
(ii) reduce or waive the amount of penalty imposed or imposable on a person under section 270A or clause (iii) of sub-section (1) of section 271; *[or]
(iii) [***]
if he is satisfied that such person—
(a) [***]
(b) in the case referred to in clause (ii), has, prior to the detection by the Assessing Officer, of the concealment of particulars of income or of the inaccuracy of particulars furnished in respect of such income, voluntarily and in good faith, made full and true disclosure of such particulars,
(c) [***]
and also has, in the case referred to in clause (b), co-operated in any enquiry relating to the assessment of his income and has either paid or made satisfactory arrangements for the payment of any tax or interest payable in consequence of an order passed under this Act in respect of the relevant assessment year.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section, a person shall be deemed to have made full and true disclosure of his income or of the particulars relating thereto in any case where the excess of income assessed over the income returned is of such a nature as not to attract the provisions of section 270A or clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 271.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1),—
(a) [***]
(b) if in a case falling under section 270A or clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 271, the amount of income in respect of which the penalty is imposed or imposable for the relevant assessment year, or, where such disclosure relates to more than one assessment year, the aggregate amount of such income for those years, exceeds a sum of five hundred thousand rupees,
no order reducing or waiving the penalty under sub-section (1) shall be made by the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner except with the previous approval of the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Director General or Director General, as the case may be.
(3) Where an order has been made under sub-section (1) in favour of any person, whether such order relates to one or more assessment years, he shall not be entitled to any relief under this section in relation to any other assessment year at any time after the making of such order :
Provided that where an order has been made in favour of any person under sub-section (1) on or before the 24th day of July, 1991, such person shall be entitled to further relief only once in relation to other assessment year or years if he makes an application to the income-tax authority referred to in sub-section (4) at any time before the 1st day of April, 1992.
(4) Without prejudice to the powers conferred on him by any other provision of this Act, the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner may, on an application made in this behalf by an assessee, and after recording his reasons for so doing, reduce or waive the amount of any penalty payable by the assessee under this Act or stay or compound any proceeding for the recovery of any such amount, if he is satisfied that—
(i) to do otherwise would cause genuine hardship to the assessee, having regard to the circumstances of the case; and
(ii) the assessee has co-operated in any inquiry relating to the assessment or any proceeding for the recovery of any amount due from him:
Provided that where the amount of any penalty payable under this Act or, where such application relates to more than one penalty, the aggregate amount of such penalties exceeds one hundred thousand rupees, no order reducing or waiving the amount or compounding any proceeding for its recovery under this sub-section shall be made by the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner except with the previous approval of the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Director General or Director General, as the case may be.
(4A) The order under sub-section (4), either accepting or rejecting the application in full or in part, shall be passed within a period of twelve months from the end of the month in which the application under the said sub-section is received by the Principal Commissioner or the Commissioner:
Provided that no order rejecting the application, either in full or in part, shall be passed unless the assessee has been given an opportunity of being heard:
Provided further that where any application is pending as on the 1st day of June, 2016, the order shall be passed on or before the 31st day of May, 2017.
(5) Every order made under this section shall be final and shall not be called into question by any court or any other authority.
(6) The provisions of this section as they stood immediately before their amendment by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1989 shall apply to and in relation to any assessment for the assessment year commencing on the 1st day of April, 1988, or any earlier assessment year, and references in this section to the other provisions of this Act shall be construed as references to those provisions as for the time being in force and applicable to the relevant assessment year.
(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (6), the provisions of sub-section (1), sub-section (2), or, as the case may be, sub-section (4) [as they stood immediately before their amendment by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1989 (3 of 1989)], shall apply in the case of reduction or waiver of penalty or interest in relation to any assessment for the assessment year commencing on the 1st day of April, 1988 or any earlier assessment year, with the modifications that the power under the said sub-section (1) shall be exercisable only by the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner and instead of the previous approval of the Board, the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner shall obtain the previous approval of the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Director General or Director General, as the case may be, while dealing with such case.
Income Tax
Section - 273, Income Tax Act, 1961-2021
False estimate of, or failure to pay, advance tax.
273. (1) If the Assessing Officer, in the course of any proceedings in connection with the regular assessment for any assessment year, is satisfied that any assessee—
(a) has furnished under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 209A a statement of the advance tax payable by him which he knew or had reason to believe to be untrue, or
(b) has failed to furnish a statement of the advance tax payable by him in accordance with the provisions of clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 209A,
he may direct that such person shall, in addition to the amount of tax, if any, payable by him, pay by way of penalty a sum—
(i) which, in the case referred to in clause (a), shall not be less than ten per cent but shall not exceed one and a half times the amount by which the tax actually paid during the financial year immediately preceding the assessment year under the provisions of Chapter XVII-C falls short of—
(1) seventy-five per cent of the assessed tax as defined in sub-section (5) of section 215, or
(2) the amount which would have been payable by way of advance tax if the assessee had furnished a correct and complete statement in accordance with the provisions of clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 209A,
whichever is less;
(ii) which, in the case referred to in clause (b), shall not be less than ten per cent but shall not exceed one and a half times of seventy-five per cent of the assessed tax as defined in sub-section (5) of section 215:
Provided that in the case of an assessee, being a company, the provisions of this sub-section shall have effect as if for the words "seventy-five per cent", at both the places where they occur, the words "eighty-three and one-third per cent" had been substituted.
(2) If the Assessing Officer, in the course of any proceedings in connection with the regular assessment for the assessment year commencing on the 1st day of April, 1970, or any subsequent assessment year, is satisfied that any assessee—
(a) has furnished under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) or sub-section (5) of section 209A, or under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 212, an estimate of the advance tax payable by him which he knew or had reason to believe to be untrue, or
(aa) has furnished under sub-section (4) of section 209A or under sub-section (3A) of section 212 an estimate of the advance tax payable by him which he knew or had reason to believe to be untrue, or
(b) has failed to furnish an estimate of the advance tax payable by him in accordance with the provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 209A, or
(c) has failed to furnish an estimate of the advance tax payable by him in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (4) of section 209A or sub-section (3A) of section 212,
he may direct that such person shall, in addition to the amount of tax, if any, payable by him, pay by way of penalty a sum—
(i) which, in the case referred to in clause (a), shall not be less than ten per cent but shall not exceed one and a half times the amount by which the tax actually paid during the financial year immediately preceding the assessment year under the provisions of Chapter XVII-C falls short of—
(1) seventy-five per cent of the assessed tax as defined in sub-section (5) of section 215, or
(2) where a statement under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 209A was furnished by the assessee or where a notice under section 210 was issued to the assessee, the amount payable under such statement or, as the case may be, such notice,
whichever is less;
(ia) which, in the case referred to in clause (aa), shall not be less than ten per cent but shall not exceed one and a half times the amount by which the tax actually paid during the financial year immediately preceding the assessment year under the provisions of Chapter XVII-C falls short of seventy-five per cent of the assessed tax as defined in sub-section (5) of section 215;
(ii) which, in the case referred to in clause (b), shall not be less than ten per cent but shall not exceed one and a half times of seventy-five per cent of the assessed tax as defined in sub-section (5) of section 215; and
(iii) which, in the case referred to in clause (c), shall not be less than ten per cent but shall not exceed one and a half times the amount by which—
(a) where the assessee has sent a statement under clause (a), or an estimate under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 209A, or an estimate in lieu of a statement under sub-section (2) of that section, the tax payable in accordance with such statement or estimate; or
(b) where the assessee was required to pay advance tax in accordance with the notice issued to him under section 210, the tax payable under such notice,
falls short of seventy-five per cent of the assessed tax as defined in sub-section (5) of section 215:
Provided that in the case of an assessee, being a company, the provisions of this sub-section shall have effect as if for the words "seventy-five per cent", wherever they occur, the words "eighty-three and one-third per cent" had been substituted.
Explanation 1.—For the purposes of clause (ia), the amount paid by the assessee on or before the date extended by the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner under the first proviso to sub-section (4) of section 209A or, as the case may be, first proviso to sub-section (3A) of section 212 shall, where the date so extended falls beyond the financial year immediately preceding the assessment year, also be regarded as tax actually paid during that financial year.
Explanation 2.—When the person liable to penalty is a registered firm or an unregistered firm which has been assessed under clause (b) of section 183, then, notwithstanding anything contained in the other provisions of this Act, the penalty imposable under this section shall be the same amount as would be imposable on that firm if that firm were an unregistered firm.
(3) The provisions of this section shall apply to and in relation to any assessment for the assessment year commencing on the 1st day of April, 1988, or any earlier assessment year, and references in this section to the other provisions of this Act shall be construed as references to those provisions as for the time being in force and applicable to the relevant assessment year.
