Rationalisation of penalty provisions relating to under-reported income

At present, section which levies penalty for mis reporting or under reporting of income, no provision for levy of penalty exists if the return is furnished for the first time u/s 148. Amendment is proposed to cover this situation also.

Section 270A contains provisions relating to penalty for under-reporting and misreporting of income. The existing provisions provide for various situations for the purposes of levy of penalty under this section. However, these provisions do not contain the mechanism for determining under-reporting of income and quantum of penalty to be levied in the case where the person has under-reported income and furnished the return of income for the first time under section 148 of the Act.

In order to provide for manner of computing the quantum of penalty in a case where the person has under-reported income and furnished his return for the first time under section 148, it is proposed to suitably amend the provisions of section 270A.

These amendments will take effect retrospectively from 1st April, 2017 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to assessment year 2017-2018 and subsequent assessment years.

The relevant part of the amendment in finance bill 2008 reads as under:

61.In section 270A of the Income-tax Act,––

(A) for the words “no return of income has been furnished” at both the places where they occur, the words and figures “no return of income has been furnished or where return has been furnished for the first time under section 148” shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2017;

(B) in sub-section (2), in clause (e), for the words “no return of income has been filed”, the words and figures “no return of income has been furnished or where return has been furnished for the first time under section 148” shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2017;

(C) in sub-section (3), in clause (i), in sub-clause (b), for the words “no return has beenfurnished”, the words and figures “no return of income has been furnished or where return has been furnished for the first time under section 148” shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2017.