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2015 (9) TMI 1154 - ANDHRA PRADESH HIGH COURTLevy of penalty - sales tax was paid belatedly, i.e., beyond the month in which it fell due - Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957 - delay in payment of sales tax due to financial problems - Held that:- It is not necessary for us, in the present proceedings, to examine whether or not imposition of penalty under section 15(4)(a) of the Act is mandatory or whether the competent authority has the discretion not to impose penalty even in cases of violation of the said provision. We shall proceed on the premise that exercise of power under section 15(4)(a) of the Act, which requires an amount equal to tax to be levied as penalty where a dealer has charged tax from the purchaser, is discretionary. The assessing authority and the appellate authority/Tribunal have noted that the petitioner was irregular in payment of sales tax dues even in the earlier months of the year. While no penalty was levied on the earlier months, the fact that the petitioner was regularly delaying payment of tax was taken into consideration in imposing penalty on him for the subject month. The previous conduct of the dealer is not an irrelevant factor in deciding whether or not penalty should be imposed on a dealer. We may not be understood to have held that in all cases where penalty is imposed, the previous conduct of the dealer should be taken into consideration. All that we have held is that the authority cannot be said to have acted illegally if, while exercising his discretion to impose penalty, he has taken the previous defaults of the dealer, in making belated payment of tax to the State, into consideration. Section 16(3) of the APGST Act requires the dealer to pay interest, at the stipulated rate, for belated payment of tax, penalty or any other amount due under the Act. Interest is levied for the period of the delay. The very fact that interest is also levied for belated payment of the penalty amount, goes to show that levy of "interest" is not in substitution of the penalty which can be imposed under section 15(4) of the Act. The petitioner's contention that, as interest is leviable under section 16(3) of the Act, penalty should not be imposed under section 15(4)(a) of the Act is, therefore, not tenable. - Petition dismissed - Decided against the assessee.
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