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2021 (2) TMI 106 - HC - Income TaxJurisdiction of Settlement Commission to deal with the matter relating to violation of Section 269ST - Penalty u/s 271DA for violating the provisions of Section 269ST - HELD THAT:- The words “in relation to the case” and “with respect to the case” used in the provisions stated, are words of wide amplitude and which, in our opinion, in the facts of the present case may allow the Settlement Commission to, notwithstanding the petitioner having not expressly referred to the notice dated 30th September, 2019 and proceedings for violation of Section 269ST pending against it in its application, pass such orders as it may thinks fit in relation / with respect thereto and the said powers of the Settlement Commission cannot be permitted to be interdicted by the impugned order. We reiterate that the proceedings of violation of Section 269ST, as per the notice dated 30th September, 2019, are a result of what was found in the search and survey qua the petitioner and are capable of being treated as part and parcel of the case taken by the petitioner by way of application to the Settlement Commission. The stand of the respondent in its e-mail dated 7th November, 2019 that the Settlement Commission assumes jurisdiction from the day when an order under Section 245D(1) is made when the application under Section 245C(1) is ordered to be proceeded with further, and which in the present case was on 8th November, 2019 and before the said date the Settlement Commission did not have exclusive jurisdiction and the respondent remained entitled to impose penalty, was / is not only contrary to the provisions of the proviso to Section 245F(2) but also contrary to the law laid down by this Court in Commissioner of Income Tax Vs. Income Tax Settlement Commission [2013 (7) TMI 95 - DELHI HIGH COURT] Settlement Commission, under the proviso to Section 245F(2), with effect from 1st November, 2019 when the petitioner admittedly made the application under Section 245C before it, had the exclusive jurisdiction to deal with the matter relating to violation of Section 269ST of the Act also and the respondent, on 4th November, 2019 did not have the jurisdiction to impose penalty for violation of Section 269ST on the petitioner and the impugned order is without jurisdiction and liable to be set aside and is hereby quashed. It should be left to the Settlement Commission to, in exercise of its powers under Section 245D(4), Section 245F and Section 245H, consider whether the matter of penalty for violation of Section 269ST of the Act is to be looked into by the Settlement Commission while deciding the application of the petitioner, or not. We accordingly direct, that without prejudice to the right of the Income Tax Authorities to contend before the Settlement Commission that the petitioner having not disclosed the aforesaid facts before the Settlement Commission, has not made a full and true disclosure within the meaning of Section 245C(1), the proceedings initiated by the respondent against the petitioner for violation of Section 269ST of the Act should await the decision of the Settlement Commission on the application of the petitioner and to abide by the same.
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