Section 234E – Assessing Officer cannot make any adjustment by levying fee u/s. 234E prior to 01.06.2015

24.  [2018] 66 ITR (Trib.) 69 (Chennai) A.R.R. Charitable
Trust vs. ACIT ITA No.:
1307/Chny/2017 & 238, 239, 240 & 241/Chny/2018 A.Y.s: 2013-14 to
2015-16 Dated: 24^th July, 2018

Section
234E – Assessing Officer cannot make any adjustment by levying fee u/s. 234E
prior to 01.06.2015

FACTS

Prior
to 01.06.2015, there was no enabling provision in section 200A of the Act for
making adjustment in respect of the statement filed by the assessee with regard
to tax deducted at source by levying fee u/s. 234E of the Act. The Parliament
for the first time enabled the Assessing Officer to make adjustment by levying
fee u/s.234E of the Act with effect from 01.06.2015. Therefore while processing
statement u/s. 200A of the Act, the Assessing Officer cannot make any
adjustment by levying fee u/s. 234E prior to 01.06.2015.

Thus
the legal position prior to 01.06.2015, as per various precedents was that, the
Assessing Officer had no authority to levy fee while issuing intimation u/s.
200A of the Act. In the present case, the Ld. CIT(A) in his order, stated that
intimation u/s. 200A of the Act was issued on 31.07.2015. However the Ld. AR
pointed out referring to the intimations issued u/s. 200A of the Act, that all
the intimations u/s. 200A of the Act were issued before 01.06.2015, therefore,
the CIT(Appeals) was not justified in confirming the levy of fee.

HELD

The Tribunal on careful examination of facts held that the
intimations were issued for all the years before 01.06.2015. Therefore, the
CIT(Appeals) was not correct in saying that the intimations were issued on
31.07.2015. When the intimations were issued before 01.06.2015, this Tribunal
was of the considered opinion that the Assessing Officer had no jurisdiction to
levy fee u/s. 234E of the Act. The amendment to section 200(3) of the Act was
made only with effect from 01.06.2015.

Relying
on its own decision in Smt. G. Indhirani the Tribunal in I.T.A. Nos.238 to
241/Chny/18, held that while processing statement u/s. 200A of the Act, the
Assessing Officer cannot make any adjustment by levying fee u/s. 234E prior to
01.06.2015. Thus the fee levied u/s. 234E of the Act was deleted.