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2015 (5) TMI 339 - HC - VAT and Sales TaxImposition of penalty under S.72(2) of the KVAT Act - Understatement of tax liability - Held that:- Imposition of penalty under S.72(2) of the KVAT Act was not warranted in the present case - Once a revised return has been filed and accepted by the Department, the original return gets obliterated and the only return which remains for consideration would be the revised return, as there cannot be two live returns pending consideration of the Department. In the present case, as a matter of fact, not only the revised return had been filed by the petitioner, but the same was also accepted by the respondents, and the validity of the revised return is not in question or in dispute. Once the revised return has been accepted and acted upon by the parties, then it is only the revised return which has to be taken as the sole return for the purpose of sub-section (2) of S.72. For the prescribed tax period, the return to be considered was the revised return filed on 16.3.2009 and not the original return filed on 20.02.2009, which had been nullified or obliterated after the filing and acceptance of the revised return. Then, it cannot be said that there was any understatement of the tax liability by the petitioner to any extent in its revised return (which was the only return to be considered), as in terms of the said revised return, the entire tax along with interest, had been paid. In such view of the matter, we are of the opinion that in the facts of the present case, the provision of sub-section (2) of S.72 of the KVAT Act would not be attracted. Imposition of penalty is not being automatic unless the intention to evade tax is made out or any malafide act is made out, the penalty cannot be imposed." Although the reasons for arriving at such conclusion in the aforesaid case were different, but in the said judgment also it has been held that imposition of penalty in the facts similar to the facts of the present case, could not be justified under S.72(2) - Decided in favour of assessee.
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