TMI Blog1978 (6) TMI 25X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and referred the following four questions for our decision : " 1. Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Appellate Tribunal was right in holding that the provisions of section 18(1)(a) as amended by clause 24(c) of the Finance Act, 1969, would not apply to the assessee's case for the assessment year 1968-69 ? 2. Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Appellate Tribunal was right in holding that the assessment proceeding would include penalty proceedings and that the law applicable to the penalty proceedings is the law as it stood on the valuation date ? 3. Whether the Appellate Tribunal's finding that the assessee had reasonable cause fox the entire period of default is based on val ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... alty as state above, which was confirmed by the AAC. Before the Tribunal also, the same contentions were repeated. In fact, the respondent furnished the details regarding the dates of filing the wealth-tax returns of her two sisters for the preceding the subsequent years as under : --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Assessment years 1966-67 1967-68 1968-69 1969-70 Arti Goenka 13-2-1967 1-2-68 12-12-68 27-11-69 Ritu Goenka 13-2-1967 1-2-68 12-12-68 27-11-69 Kavitha Goenka 13-2-1967 1-2-68 27-11-69 27-11-69 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and on the strength of such conclusions it was of the view that the respondent cannot be said to have deliberately acted in defiance of law, nor could it be said that she was guilty of contumacious or dishonest conduct. The Tribunal therefore, came to the conclusion that though there may be a technical breach of the provisions of the Act, the circumstances cannot constitute the basis for the levy of penalty. As regards the date on which such penalty should be levied, it came to the conclusion that it should be computed with reference to the law prevailing on the date of default. It was under those circumstances the Tribunal framed the above four questions for our answer. Mr. Rangaswamy, learned counsel for the appellant, fairly accepted t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... be the quality and the quantity of impunity of the assessee. A balance has to be struck and in order to invoke the penalty proceedings and ultimately levy penalty, the revenue should view the entire facts and circumstances with meticulous care and should impose such penalty on contumacious or fraudulent assessees. The discovery of fraud by itself will prompt a reasonable person to penalise the person, who commits fraud. But it is rather difficult to weigh with precision as to in what circumstances the conduct of an assessee would amount to contumacious conduct or a dishonest conduct. As exercise of such a power to impose penaltv springs from a quasi- criminal jurisdiction vested in the revenue, a certain amount of deliberateness in the matt ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... it is venial, then the authorities should be reasonably lenient. If it is deliberate obstinate disobedience of law and resistance to authority, then such conduct would cease to be a pardonable excuse. In the instant case, the excuses given by the respondent are far from being convincing and much less probable. The representative who was dealing with the similar cases of the sisters of the respondent filed the wealth-tax returns of others on December 12, 1968, but filed that of the respondent on November 27, 1969. The excuse that certain particulars were to be obtained from M/s. Express Newspapers (P.) Ltd. stood only as a bare excuse without being substantiated. The other plea that the returns could not be filed in time because they were ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
