S. 271D/ 271E: If assessee's plea about compulsion to pay/ receive loans in cash is not disputed, the violation of s. 269SS/269T is deemed to be bonafide and does not attract penalty

According to the plea raised, the persons who have advanced these loans to the assessee are relatives of a salesman who reside in a village and were having no bank account. Such contention of the assessee has not been discarded or disproved. It is also not mentioned in the penalty order that the aforementioned amount taken by the assessee in violation of section 269SS and repayment thereof in violation of section 269T was not bonafide transaction and the same was made with a view to evade tax. If it is so, then according to the decision of Hon’ble Bombay High Court in the case of CIT vs. Triumph International Finance (I) Ltd 345 ITR 720, no penalty is imposable either under section 271D or under section 271E as the explanation submitted by the assessee would be considered to be reasonable cause under section 273B of the Act.