9911796707
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Issues:
1. Imposition of penalties under section 18(1)(a) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 for assessment years 1973-74 and 1974-75. 2. Compliance with notice requirements under section 17 and section 18(2) of the Act. 3. Argument regarding non-receipt of notices before penalty imposition. 4. Interpretation of penalty imposition based on the date of assessment. 5. Filing of additional ground against penalty imposition. 6. Consideration of new grounds at the appellate stage. 7. Application of relevant legal precedents on changing grounds before the Tribunal. 8. Direction to the learned AAC for deciding the issue raised for the first time. Detailed Analysis: 1. The judgment deals with two appeals challenging penalties imposed under section 18(1)(a) of the Wealth-tax Act for the assessment years 1973-74 and 1974-75. The penalties were imposed due to the assessee's failure to file returns in compliance with sections 14(1) and 17 of the Act. The assessments were completed under section 16(5) of the Act, and penalties were imposed without compliance with notice requirements under section 18(2). 2. The learned AAC confirmed the penalties, rejecting the assessee's arguments related to non-filing of returns due to personal reasons like a pilgrimage and family disputes. The additional ground was filed against the penalty imposition, alleging non-receipt of notices before penalties were imposed. 3. The authorized representative of the assessee cited a Supreme Court decision to support the contention that penalties should be recalculated based on the date of assessment, not the net wealth. The departmental representative opposed this interpretation and rejected the additional ground filed by the assessee. 4. The Tribunal considered the submissions and emphasized the importance of not simplifying the legal system by sidelining justice. It noted that the service of penalty notices had not been clearly proved, as the notices were returned undelivered. The Tribunal discussed the applicability of raising new grounds at the appellate stage based on legal precedents. 5. The Tribunal discussed various decisions of the Supreme Court and High Courts on changing grounds before the Tribunal. It highlighted that the legality of penalty imposition was the main issue, and the service of notice was an alternative plea raised by the assessee. The Tribunal directed the learned AAC to decide on the issue raised for the first time after proper hearings. 6. The Tribunal admitted the additional ground regarding the validity of penalty imposition without notice service and set aside the appeals for statistical purposes. The assessee was granted the liberty to raise other contentions before the learned AAC during further hearings. The judgment focused on procedural fairness and adherence to legal principles in imposing penalties under the Wealth-tax Act.
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