TMI Blog1989 (3) TMI 102X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 31, 1976, March 31, 1977 and March 31, 1978, i.e., for the assessment years 1976-77, 1977-78 and 1978-79. These returns were filed on October 12, 1977, October 10, 1977 and June 9, 1977, respectively, and the income disclosed was Rs. 9,000, Rs. 11,000 and Rs. 12,400, respectively. No books of account such as cash-book or ledger were being maintained. Income was disclosed on estimate basis in a bona fide manner. The Income-tax Department searched the premises of Shri M. P. S. Minhas, who is the son of the petitioner, on December 4, 1978. Some days after, this search, a survey of the working of the petitioner was done and the income-tax authorities started harassing the petitioner and other relations of the abovesaid M. P. S. Minhas. The conclusion derived by the authorities concerned was that the said M. P. S. Minhas was the real owner of the various business concerns which were being run by his various relations including the petitioner. Seven relations of Shri M. P. S. Minhas were contacted and it was projected to them that they all formed a group managed by M. P. S. Minhas and the said seven relations of M. P. S. Minhas were treated by the income-tax authorities as members of one ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... inhas and the concern of which he was either the proprietor or which he was controlling. In the course of search of various premises covered by the Department on December 14, 1978, documents relating to the business activity of Shri Jarnail Singh were also found and seized by the raiding party. The assessee was required to give clarifications regarding the nature of the documents and the business being carried on by him. There was no question of harassment caused to the petitioner. Records seized in the course of search and seizure revealed that Shri M. P. S. Minhas was the main person who was carrying on the business activity on behalf of his near relations, viz, father, mother, wives and brothers. If at all there is any Minhas group, it was not the creation of the Department. After the examination of the material documents , the Department was in a position to establish that higher income than the income returned by the petitioner had been earned by Shri M. P. S. Minhas and the other persons of his group including the petitioner. The petitioner is admitted to have submitted various proposals to settle his income-tax matters and those were examined by the then officer holding juri ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... overs any omission or any wrong statement therein, he may furnish a revised return at any time before the assessment is made. There is no dispute that the returns filed by the petitioners do not attract the provisions of sub-section (5) of section 139 of the Act. As the new returns are not based on the discovery of any omission or any wrong statement made in the original return, this provision, therefore, is not of any help to the petitioner. Section 276C of the Act makes punishable the person liable if he wilfully attempts in any manner whatsoever to evade any tax, penalty or interest chargeable or imposable under this Act to rigorous imprisonment for term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to seven years and with fine , if the amount sought to be evaded exceeds One hundred thousand rupees and in any other case, to rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to three years and with fine. This punishment is without prejudice to any penalty that may be imposable on him under any other provision of the Act. Sub-section (2) of this section makes the person liable to rigorous imprisonment for a term which sha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pport from Sunil Kumar v. CIT [1983] 139 ITR 880 (Bom) and CIT v. Behari Lal Pyare Lal [1983] 141 ITR 32 (P H). Here also, he cannot depend upon this provision of protective assessment because in a complaint like the present, the Department is concerned that all persons filing returns should make truthful statements so as not to conceal any facts relating to the income and once a verification of any statement is found to be false, the offence is complete and the assessee is liable to be prosecuted. The main argument of counsel for the petitioner is that the revised returns were filed under settlement talks and the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner (Investigation) sent his report to the Commissioner of Income-tax on February 13, 1981, which report is reproduced in para 9 of the petition. The specific portion refers to the fact that the search and seizure operations were conducted on the business as well as residential premises of various members of this group on December 14, 1979, under section 132 of the Act and after detailed investigation of the seized records and discussion with the assessees of this group, the Income-tax Officer submitted a comprehensive report, vide which ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r before March 6, 1986. We, therefore, admit the assessee's application and allow it to be proceeded with. In accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2A) of section 245D of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the applicant shall, within 35 days of the receipt of this order, pay the additional amount of income-tax payable on the income disclosed in the application and shall furnish proof of such payment to the Settlement Commission and the Assessing Officer assessing him within 15 days of making the aforesaid payment. If the applicant does not pay the additional amount of income-tax payable as above within the time specified in sub-section (2A) of section 245D of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the amount of income-tax remaining unpaid, together with any interest payable thereon under sub-section (2C) of section 245D of the Income-tax Act, shall be recovered by the Assessing Officer in accordance with the provisions of section 245D(2D) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. A copy of the annexure to the settlement application, together with statements and other documents accompanying such annexure, is being separately forwarded to the Commissioner of Income-tax along with a copy of this order with ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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