New Delhi, Nov. 1 -- The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Delhi, has deleted a penalty of Rs.3.08 lakh imposed on a salaried taxpayer for failing to disclose Rs.4.49 lakh in bank interest in his original income-tax return. The tribunal held that the omission was bona fide and inadvertent, and that the income-tax department had also failed to specify the precise charge of misreporting in its penalty notice.

In the case of Sidharth Gupta v. Income Tax Officer (ITO), Ward 29(1), the tribunal noted that the taxpayer subsequently disclosed the omitted interest income in his return filed in response to a reassessment notice and paid the applicable tax. The assessing officer accepted the revised income without making any further addition. ...