, , आयकर अपीलीय अिधकरण इंदौर (cid:586)ायपीठ इंदौर IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL INDORE BENCH, INDORE BEFORE SHRI B.M. BIYANI, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER AND SHRI UDAYAN DAS GUPTA, JUDICIAL MEMBER ITA No.720/Ind/2024 Assessment Year: 2014-15 Prakash Asphalting & Toll ACIT Central Circle -1 Highways (India) Limited, Indore /

बनाम

76, Mall Road, Vs.

Mhow (Assessee/Appellant) (Revenue/Respondent)

PAN: AABCP0398N Assessee by Shri Anup Garg & Vikas Guru, ARs Revenue by Shri Ashish Porwal, Sr. DR Date of Hearing 22.01.2025 Date of Pronouncement 24.02.2025 आदेश / O R D E R Per B.M. Biyani, A.M.:

Feeling aggrieved by order of first appeal dated 30.08.2024 passed by learned Commissioner of Income-tax-3, Bhopal [“CIT(A)”] which in turn arises out of penalty-order dated 21.03.2022 passed by learned ACIT, Central Circle, Indore [“AO”] u/s 271AAB(1) of Income-tax Act, 1961 [“the Act”] for assessment-year [“AY”] 2014-15, the assessee has filed this appeal.

2. The background facts leading to present appeal are such that the assessee is a company engaged in the business of developing, operation and maintenance of infrastructure projects of roads and bridges, toll collection contracts, etc. A search u/s 132 was carried on one “PATH Group”including assessee on 27.08.2014. Pursuant to search action, the assessments of AYs 2009-10 to 2015-16 were framed u/s 153A/143(3). Presently, we are concerned with AY 2014-15 for which the assessee filed return declaring a total income of Rs. 14,45,690/- on 30.03.3016 in response to notice u/s 153A but the AO completed assessment at a total income of Rs. 17,21,79,560/- after making certain additions vide assessment-order dated 30.12.2016. Simultaneously, the AO initiated penalty proceeding u/s 271AAB vide notice dated 30.12.2016 u/s 274 r.w.s. 271AAB which culminated into passing of penalty-order dated 21.03.2022 imposing a penalty of Rs. 1,63,64,882/- u/s 271AAB(1)(b) @ 60% on undisclosed income of Rs. 2,72,74,804/-. The five issues for which this penalty was imposed, have been neatly noted by CIT(A) in Para 2.1 to 2.5 of impugned order, we re-produce the same:

“2.1 The return of income for the AY 2014-15 was filed on 28/11/2014 u/s 139(1) ofthe Actdeclaring totalincome ofRs. 14,35,62,680/-. In response to the notice u/s 153A of the Act, the assessee had filed return of income on 30/03/2016 for the AY 2014-15, declaring total income at Rs. 14,45,690/- The appellanthad revised the deduction u/s 80-IA ofthe Actto Rs. 17,91,52,742/- in computation of income u/s 153A of the Act. The appellant was confronted with the facts in respect of deduction claimed u/s 80-IA on account of income from other sources, which was not available for the deduction under section 80-IA of the Act. Considering the factualmatrixofthe issue, the appellanthad withdrawn the incorrectclaim of deduction u/s 80-IA to the extent of Rs. 2,21,48,480/- and revised deduction u/s 80-IA and furnished a fresh computation of income u/s 153A of the Act for AY 2014-15 wherein claim of deduction u/s 80-IA was reduced to Rs. 15,70,04,262/-. Accordingly, the learned AO had AO initiated penalty proceedings u/s 271AAB of the Acton account of undisclosed income of Rs.2,21,48,480/-.

2.2 From the statement of Shri Ashok Shrotriya, director of PATH, the assessee company. During the AY 2014-15 total amount of payment was made as per seized document page-30 to 31 of LPS-9 was Rs. 41,06,500/-. The statement of ShriShrotriya was clearwherein he had stated thatthese payments were made by PATH only. The appellant had notmade the correctadmission of undisclosed income in its reply during the assessment proceedings. The Ld. AO had made addition of Rs. 41,06,500/- for the AY 2014-15 considering the fact that the appellant had not disclosed this unaccounted expenditure and the appellant concealed the particulars of income in response to return filed u/s 153A of the Actand Penalty proceedings u/s 271AAB ofthe Actwas initiated onthis issue.

2.3 During the search incriminating docume