2009 (8) TMI 730 - HC - Income Tax

Penalty - inaccurate particulars of income - assessee made a claim declaring his income as business income while the Assessing Officer held the same to be income from house property - Held that - assessee was not guilty of any concealment or giving inaccurate particulars - appeal is dismissed

Summary

Issues:
1. Appeal under section 260A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 against the order of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal.
2. Penalty imposed under section 271(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for inaccurate particulars of income.
3. Discrepancy between the assessee's claim of business income and the Assessing Officer's classification as income from house property.
4. Tribunal's decision on concealment of income and inaccurate particulars leading to the deletion of penalty.

Analysis:

1. The appeal was filed under section 260A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 by the Revenue against the order of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Amritsar Bench, Amritsar dated September 12, 2008, for the assessment year 2001-02. The substantial question of law proposed to be raised was whether the Tribunal was right in law in deleting the penalty imposed under section 271(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

2. The issue arose when the assessee claimed his income as business income, but the Assessing Officer categorized it as income from house property, a decision upheld by the Tribunal. Subsequently, the Assessing Officer levied a penalty under section 271(1)(c), which was confirmed by the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals). However, the Tribunal concluded that the assessee did not conceal income or provide inaccurate particulars; instead, the matter involved a debatable issue. Consequently, the penalty was removed.

3. The court, after hearing the counsel for the Revenue, considered the Tribunal's finding that the assessee did not conceal income or provide inaccurate particulars but rather raised a debatable issue. Therefore, the court determined that no substantial question of law arose in this context.

4. Ultimately, the court dismissed the appeal based on the Tribunal's decision that the assessee did not engage in concealing income or furnishing inaccurate particulars, but rather presented a debatable issue, leading to the deletion of the penalty under section 271(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

This comprehensive analysis of the judgment covers the key issues involved in the legal matter, detailing the sequence of events, decisions made by the relevant authorities, and the final ruling by the court.