As the report of audit under section 44AB is not to be attached with the return. It should not be furnished separately also before or after the due date. However, an assessee should get the report of audit from an accountant under said section before the due date of the furnishing of the return and should fill out the relevant columns of these forms on the basis of such report. The assessee should retain the report with himself. It may be furnished in original during the assessment proceedings. No penalty under section 271B shall be initiated or levied for not furnishing the tax audit report on or before the due date. However, if the audit report has not been obtained before the due date, provisions of section 271B shall be attracted.
IN YOUR CASE , SECTION 271B will get attracted and penalty may be levied :
Non compliance of any provision of the Income Tax Act attracts huge penalty. Similarly the non compliance of Section 44AB attracts penalty under section 271B of the Income Tax Act, 1961. If any person who is required to get his accounts audited by an Accountant before the specified date fails to do so shall be liable for penalty under section 271B. The amount of penalty shall be half a percent of turnover / gross receipts or Rs.150000/- whichever is lower. The maximum penalty under this section was increased from one lakh to one and a half lakhs by the Finance Act, 2010, with effect from 01.04.2011. This penalty shows the seriousness that the Government affixes towards Tax Audit under section 44AB.
However no penalty may be levied if here is a reasonable cause for such failure. For e.g. in a firm it may so happen that the partner who manages the entire accounting and finance is not in the country and has gone abroad. In such a situation, the other partners will not be in a position to offer explanations to the Tax Auditor to complete his audit. Hence the accounts may not get audited by the due date. A similar situation also arises when the accountant quits the firm just before the end of September. But what serves as a reasonable cause is always uncertain.
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