TMI Blog2006 (8) TMI 134X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he Act"), has been filed against the order of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Delhi Bench, New Delhi, dated August 11, 1998. Briefly stated the facts giving rise to the present appeal are as follows: The present appeal relates to the imposition of penalty under section 18(1)(c) of the Act for the assessment year 1977-78. The respondent-asses-see was assessed to wealth-tax up to the assessment year 1976-77. Thereafter he had not filed any return. The notice under section 17 of the Act was issued to him but no return was filed. Notices under section 16(4) of the Act were issued fixing various dates but the respondent-assessee did not appear before the assessing authority. The assessment was completed on March 16, 1988, under section 16(5) of the Act on the net wealth of Rs. 27,52,700 and penalty under section 18(1)(c) of the Act was also initiated in the course of assessment proceedings. The penalty proceedings were completed ex parte and a sum of Rs. 51,420 was imposed as penalty. The appeal preferred by the respondent-assessee was allowed by the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) on the ground that no penalty under section 18(1)(c) can be levied as he had not filed return ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the furnishing of inaccurate particulars in respect of any assets or debts. Explanation 1.- For the purposes of clause (iii) of this sub-section, the expression 'the amount of tax sought to be evaded'- (a) in a case to which Explanation 3 applies, means the tax on the net wealth assessed; (b) in any other case, means the difference between the tax on the net wealth assessed and the tax that would have been chargeable had the net wealth assessed been reduced by the amount which represents the value of any assets in respect of which particulars have been concealed or inaccurate particulars have been furnished and of any debts in respect of which inaccurate particulars have been furnished. Explanation 2.-Where in respect of any facts material to the computation of the net wealth of any person under this Act,- (A) such person fails to offer an explanation or offers an explanation which is found by the Wealth-tax Officer or the Appellate Assistant Commissioner or the Commissioner (Appeals) to be false, or (B) such person offers an explanation which he is not able to substantiate: then, the amount added or disallowed in computing the net wealth of such person as a result t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e issued under section 17 no return has been filed. The question as to whether an assessee has concealed the particulars of his turnover where he has not filed the return came up for consideration before the apex court in the case of Narain Das Suraj Bhan v. Commissioner, Sales Tax [1968] 21 STC 104. The apex court while considering the provisions regarding the imposition of penalty provided under clause (b) of section 15A(1) of the U.P. Sales Tax Act has held as follows: "In our opinion, clause (b) of section 15A(1) is attracted as soon as it is shown that the assessee has concealed the particulars of its turnover or deliberately furnished inaccurate particulars of such turnover in the return filed under section 7 of the Act. It is manifest that from the grammatical point of view the words 'inaccurate particulars of such turnover' in clause (b) of section 15A(1) refer back to clause (a) where the return under section 7 is specified. In other words, clause (b) refers to default in respect of a return furnished under section 7 and cannot possibly refer to any default in respect of anything done by the assessee in a proceeding under section 21. As there is no question of furnishi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eld as follows: "It is impossible to say that when a person has failed to furnish any return at all what he has done is to conceal the particulars of his income or to deliberately furnish inaccurate particulars of such income within the meaning of clause (c) of section 38(1) of the Act. We entertain no doubt that the offence is such a case should be considered as one coming under clause (a) and not under clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 38." In the case of S. Narayanappa and Brothers v. CIT [1961] 41 ITR 125, the Mysore High Court has held as follows: "What was urged before us was that in a case where an assessee has furnished no return at all before the Income-tax Officer, it should be presumed for the purposes of section 28(1)(b) that he has furnished a return of his income intimating the Income-tax Officer that his income is nil. It seems to me that the language of section 28(1) does not admit of any such construction since the clear requirement of the provisions of this sub-section is that an assessee on whom a penalty is proposed to be imposed under section 28(1)(b) should have in the first instance furnished his return. That, in my opinion, is the ordinary and g ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... part of the assessee. The meaning of the word "concealment" as found in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edition, Volume I, is as follows: '"In law, the intentional suppression of truth or fact known, to the injury or prejudice of another.' The word 'concealment' inherently carried with it the element of mens rea. Therefore, the mere fact that some figure or some particulars have been disclosed by itself, even if it takes out the case from the purview of non-disclosure, it cannot by itself take out the case from the purview of furnishing inaccurate particulars. Mere omission from the return of an item of receipt does neither amount to concealment nor deliberate furnishing of inaccurate particulars of income unless and until there is some evidence to show or some circumstances found from which it can be gathered that the omission was attributable to an intention or desire on the part of the assessee to hide or conceal the income so as to avoid the imposition of tax thereon. In order that a penalty under section 271(1)(iii) may be imposed, it has to be proved that the assessee has consciously made the concealment or furnished inaccurate particulars of his income. Where ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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