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2019 (11) TMI 812 - HC - Income TaxIncome Tax Settlement Commission order u/s 245D(4) - undisclosed foreign income and assets - whether the Settlement Commission lacked the jurisdiction to decide the applications under section 245C? - HELD THAT:- As compared to the amount of income disclosed, the additional amount offered was only ₹ 8.64 crores which comes to approximately 6.7% of the total amount of income disclosed and is, therefore, only a fraction of the total income disclosed. This offer to pay additional amount by the contesting respondents has to be considered keeping in mind the fact that the proceedings before the Settlement Commission are in the nature of settlement proceedings. If for the reason that in respect of issues which pertained to very old period and could not be reconciled due to lack of want of further evidence, the contesting respondents, with a view to bring about a settlement, agreed to pay a higher amount as proposed by the revenue, it certainly cannot be termed as a revision of the original disclosure made under section 245C inasmuch as, there is no further disclosure but an acceptance of additional liability based on the disclosure already made before the Settlement Commission. On a conjoint reading of section 3 and section 2(9) of the Black Money Act, one thing is clear namely that undisclosed foreign income or asset become chargeable to tax from assessment year 2016-17. However, insofar as undisclosed foreign asset is concerned, while it becomes chargeable to tax from assessment year 2016-17 onwards, the date of acquisition of such asset may relate to any assessment year prior to assessment year 2016-17. Therefore, even after the coming into force of the Black Money Act, insofar as assessment years prior to assessment year 2016-17 are concerned, the undisclosed foreign income would be chargeable to tax under the relevant provisions of the Income Tax Act. Adverting to the facts of the present case, as noticed earlier, the contesting respondents have not resiled from their stand in the application made under section 245C of the IT Act. The contesting respondents have also not made any further disclosure during the course of settlement proceedings but have only agreed to pay additional tax on the basis of the computation made by the revenue in respect of the disclosure made by them. In the present case, it is not possible to state that the impugned order passed by the Settlement Commission is in any manner contrary to any provisions of the IT Act. Insofar as the findings of fact recorded by the Settlement Commission to the effect that there has been no wilful attempt to conceal material facts in these cases are concerned, the same cannot be gone into by this court while exercising writ jurisdiction in absence of any challenge to such findings on the ground of perversity. Under the circumstances, there is no warrant for exercise of powers under articles 226 or 227 of the Constitution of India. Another aspect of the matter is that it is an admitted position that prior to the presentation of this petition, the order of the Settlement Commission came to be fully implemented. Though the Settlement Commission had granted one year’s time to pay the amount determined by it, after the order of the Settlement Commission was given effect to, the revenue authorities issued notices of demand and recovered the same from the contesting respondents. At the time when the petition came to be filed, the order of the Settlement Commission has been fully implemented. However, there is not even a whisper in this regard in the memorandum of petition. Not only that, despite having fully executed the impugned order, by way of interim relief it has been prayed that the execution and operation of the order dated 30.1.2019 passed by the Settlement Commission under section 245D of the IT Act be stayed. The learned counsel for the contesting respondents is, therefore, wholly justified in contending that the petition suffers from suppression of material facts. In the light of the above discussion, this court does not find any infirmity in the impugned order passed by the Settlement Commission so as to warrant interference. The petition, therefore, fails and is, accordingly, dismissed. Notice is discharged with no order as to costs. The interim relief granted earlier stands vacated. At this stage, the learned advocate for the petitioner has requested that the operation of this judgment be stayed for a period of two weeks so as to enable the petitioner to approach the higher forum.
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