The Nagpur branch of ICAI recently organized a 'Study Circle' meet on "Penalty under Section 271 (1) (c) of Income Tax Act" at ICAI Bhavan in the city. City-based chartered accountant Mahavir Atal was a guest faculty.

"Penalty under section 271(1) (c) is one of the most hotly contested provisions under the Income Tax Act. There has been vast number of judgments from the Supreme Court and various High Courts and Tribunal across India on intricacies and technicalities of this penalty section both in favor and against the assessee," he said.

"In recent years, we have seen growing tendency among Income Tax officials in threatening assessee and levying penalty under this section in almost every case, even in a case where claim of assessee is bonafide or there is mere change of opinion or interpretation of law," he added.

He later discussed various case laws over the said section and guided members over representations on the same with Income Tax authorities.

Earlier, Swapnil Agrawal, chairman, Nagpur Branch, informed about various upcoming events and projects taken up by the branch. He appealed to the members to participate in large numbers and keep themselves up to date.