9911796707
TMI Blog2003 (9) TMI 38X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... llage and post office Rahon, Tehsil Nawanshahr, District Jalandhar. The other three respondents are its partners. At the very outset, it has been brought to my notice by Mr. Vikas Behl, learned counsel for the respondents that respondent No.4, namely, Smt. Leela Wati, wife of Jagdish Ram, had died on September 6, 1994. Mr. Sharda, learned counsel for the appellant does not controvert this factual position. The present appeal qua respondent No.4 thus, abates. In short, the allegations against the respondents are that for the assessment year 1980-81 (financial year 1979-80), the original return filed on August 13, 1982, on behalf of the firm was not true as certain facts were intentionally concealed in the said return to evade tax. The said ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the firm in their original return by not submitting the true statement of accounts. The respondents were consequently summoned to face trial. After recording the pre-charge evidence, the trial court framed the charges against all the accused. After appreciating the entire evidence, the learned trial court has acquitted the respondents. Hence, this appeal. I have heard Mr. N.L. Sharda, learned counsel for the Income-tax Department-appellant, and Mr. Vikas Behl, learned counsel for the respondents. With their assistance I have also gone through the entire record. Learned counsel for the appellant has assailed the impugned judgment mainly on the ground that the respondent-firm and its partners had intentionally not filed the true ret ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s not sustainable in the eyes of law, learned counsel so submits. In support of his arguments he has relied upon P. Jayappan v. S.K. Perumal, First ITQ [1984] 149 ITR 696 (SC) and C. G. Balakrishnan v. ITQ [1988] 171 ITR 1 (Ker). Refuting the arguments of Mr. Sharda, Mr. Behl has vehemently contended that no offence is made out against the respondents at all as there is no concealment in this case. He further contended that there was no mens rea on the part of respondent No.2 while filing the return on behalf of the firm because when the original return was filed on August 13, 1982, the firm was not in possession of all the account books including the Bahis as these were taken by the income-tax officials at the time of conducting the surve ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... outine on the basis of certain account books which he was maintaining after the survey. He in support of his arguments has relied upon Kuldip Rai Chopra, ITO v. Sohan Singh Dhiman [1977] 110 1m 521 (P & H) and Jog Raj v. State of Punjab [1987] 164 ITR 763 (P & H); [1986] 1 CLR 388 (P & H) and ITO v. Mohd. Yousuf [1989] 175 1m 263; [1989] 2 CLR 178 (Delhi). After hearing the rival contentions of both the sides, I am of the considered view that there is no merit in the appeal filed by the Income-tax Department. I have minutely perused the impugned judgment passed by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jalandhar. With the assistance of both the sides I have also rescanned the entire evidence. Shri D.S. Walia, Income-tax Officer, Central C ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lies with the assessee for not moving an application before the Department for taking the Udhar Bahis and account books back for the purposes of filing the proper return but this by itself would not be a ground to say that the assessee had wilfully concealed the income. The moment a notice was issued in September, 1982, under section 143(2) of the Act by the Department, a revised return with enhanced income was filed immediately in the month of October, 1982. The enhanced income was shown as almost double and thereafter during the assessment proceedings, the assessee had also agreed to pay the tax on the enhanced assessment. Consequently, the tax was imposed and the same was paid so much so the amount of Rs. 12,000 as penalty was also paid ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
