Home Case Index All Cases Income Tax Income Tax + HC Income Tax - 2015 (7) TMI HC This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2015 (7) TMI 127 - CALCUTTA HIGH COURTPenalty under Section 271(1(c) - additional income due to the search operation u/s 132 - assessee disclosed the additional income only after he was confronted by the D.I (Inv), New Delhi with certain evidence - Held that:- In the case, before us the assessee on his own showing had furnished inaccurate particulars. The assessee admitted that the return originally filed by him included expenditure disallowable under Section 37(1) which occasioned the revised return filed by him by which a sum of ₹ 3.40 crores was added by the assessee himself to his total income originally returned. The submission advanced by Mr. Kapoor that the Assessing Officer did not call for any explanation from the assessee is not factually correct because it would appear from the assessment order dated 30th March, 2007 quoted above that a notice under Section 271(1)(c) was issued to which the assessee duly replied by its letter dated 1st June, 2006 and offered an explanation that there was no deliberate concealment which was not acceptable to the Assessing Officer. He as such passed an order under Section 271(1). It is, therefore not correct to say that the exercise calling for an explanation from the assessee was not undertaken. Clause (c) of Section 271(1) originally qualified an act of concealment of income or furnishing of inaccurate particulars with the expression ‘deliberately’ which was omitted by the Finance Act, 1964 w.e.f. 1.4.1964 as a result concealment of income or inaccurate particulars need not originally have been furnished deliberately. The use of the expression ‘deliberately’ was a pointer to show that mens rea was a necessary element. With the omission of the expression ‘deliberately’, mens rea is no longer a prerequisite for imposition of penalty. It is now a case of strict liability. In the case of Dilip N. Shroff – Vs- CIT reported in (2007 (5) TMI 198 - SUPREME Court), mens rea was considered to be a necessary ingredient for levy of penalty. But in the case of Union of India –Vs- Dharmendra Textile Processors reported [2008 (9) TMI 52 - SUPREME COURT ] it was held that the view in the case of Dilip. N. Shroff was not correct. It has been held that penalty under Section 271 (1) (c ) is a civil liability and the wilful concealment is not an essential ingredient. - Decided in favour of the Revenue.
|