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7. There was reasonable cause which prevented the appellant in filing the Audit Report before the due date which the AO failed to appreciate and also failed to grant the immunity provided under section 273B.

8. Any other grounds that may be adduced at the time of hearing may also be considered.

3. Brief facts of the case are that for the A.Y. 2017-18, the assessee is carrying on business and has gross receipts of Rs. 5,79,55,929/-. As the gross receipts exceeds Rs. 1,00,00,000/-, the assessee is required to furnish Audit Report within the due date. However, in the above case, the assessee has furnished the audit report but failed to do so within the due date. The due date for furnishing audit report for the AY 2017-18 was 31/10/2017. However, the assessee has filed the same on 13/03/2018, which is after the due date. In the opinion of AO, the above non-compliance attracts penalty u/s.271B of IT Act which is ½ per cent of gross receipts or Rs.1,50,000/-, whichever is less. Accordingly, as the gross receipts of the assessee exceeds Rs.1,00,00,000/- for the AY 2017-18, the assessee was required to furnish audit report within due date. As the same has not been furnished within due date, penalty proceedings u/s 271B of the IT Act has been initiated and penalty notice has been issued to the assessee. In response to the said notice, the assessee has vide his detailed submission dated 18/01/2020 explained that assessee being a primary agricultural credit society had filed Kulasekharapuram Service Co-operative Bank Ltd., Kollam its return of Income along with the Tax Audit Report for the AY 17 - 18 in response to notice u/s. 142(1) of the Act. The assessee society's total income after deduction u/s 80P of the Act was NIL and hence, they on an honest and bonafide belief were under the impression that they are not required to file return of Income U/s 139 of the Act along with the tax audit report. The Assessee also submitted that even the internal auditors from the co- operative department also not appraised about the matter. It is only after getting the notice u/s 142(1) of the Act, the assessee sought opinion from a professional who advised them to get their accounts audited and file return of income at the earliest. Immediately on advice, they appointed a CA firm to carry out the tax audit and file their return of income which was ultimately filed on 13/03/2018. It was contended that, all these delays has occurred due to the lack of proper advice and information on the part of the Board of the Directors of the Co-operative society. After carefully going through the reply of the assessee, the AO was of the opinion that the assessee failed to substantiate the reason to file the audit report belatedly and accordingly, levied the penalty of Rs. 1,50,000/- u/s 271B of the Act for the non compliance to provision of Sec. 44AB of the act.

6. Aggrieved by the order of the ld. CIT(A)/NFAC, the assessee has filed the present appeal before this Tribunal. The assessee has filed paper book comprising of 26 pages containing various decisions relied upon by the assessee.

7. Before us, ld. A.R. of the assessee vehemently submitted that there is a reasonable cause in not filing the audit report for AY 2017-18 within the due date due to an honest and bonafide belief and under the impression that the assessee society are not required to file return of Income U/s 139 of the Act along with the tax audit report. The Assessee also submitted that even the internal auditors from the co-operative department also not appraised the management about the matter. It is only after getting the notice u/s 142(1) of the Act, the assessee sought opinion from a professional who advised them to get their accounts audited and file return of income at the earliest. Acting upon immediately, they appointed a CA firm to carry out the tax audit and file their return of income which were ultimately filed on 13/03/2018. Further, it is also contended that as the AO completed the assessment based on the audited statement of accounts as well as audit report, there was no loss to the revenue on account of delay in filing the audit report. Accordingly, there was a reasonable cause within the meaning of section 273B of the Act in not getting the audit report within the prescribed time. Therefore, as per provisions contained in section 273B of the Act, the penalty may not be levied as there exist a reasonable cause for failure.

8. The ld. D.R. on the other hand supported the orders of the authorities below and submitted that as there is a clear violation of section 271B of the Act to furnish the audit report as required u/s 44AB of the Act within the due date, the penalty levied may be sustained.

Kulasekharapuram Service Co-operative Bank Ltd., Kollam

9. We have heard the rival submissions and perused the materials available on record. It is not a case of non filing of audit report at all but it is a case of delayed filing of the return along with the audit reports. It is not in dispute that the assessee filed the income tax return along with the audit report on 13.03.2018 belatedly by more than four months that too, in response to notice U/s. 142(1) of the Act. It is also an undisputed fact that the assessment was completed in the case of the assessee u/s 143(3) of the Act vide order dated 30.12.2019 after considering the audited statement of accounts and audit report. The assessee claims that due to honest and bonafide belief and under the impression that they are not required to file return of Income U/s 139 of the Act along with the tax audit report couldn't filed the ROI & audit report within the due date. The Assessee also submitted that even the internal auditors from the co-operative department also not appraised the management about the matter. It is only after getting the notice u/s 142(1) of the Act, the assessee sought opinion from a professional who advised them to get their accounts audited and file return of income at the earliest. Acting upon immediately, they appointed a CA firm to carry out the tax audit and file their return of income which were ultimately filed on 13/03/2018. Further, it is also contended that as the AO completed the assessment based on the audited statement of accounts as well as audit report, there was no loss to the revenue on account of delay in filing the audit report. Accordingly, there was a reasonable cause within the meaning of section 273B of the Act in not getting the audit report within the prescribed time.