1998 (5) TMI 8 - SC - Income Tax

Penalty - assessee had voluntarily filed the wealth-tax returns before the issuance of any notice under section 14(2) - moreover, total tax involved in all these assessment years was only about Rs. 7,000 - fit case where penalty should have been reduced to 50 per cent

Summary

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal regarding penalty imposed under section 18(1)(a) of the Wealth-tax Act. Penalty was imposed for late filing of wealth-tax returns, ranging from 10 to 34 months delay. The total penalty was Rs. 28,366. The assessee's petition under section 18B argued for waiver due to full disclosure and cooperation, but the Commissioner did not reduce the penalty. The Court found the Commissioner too harsh and reduced the penalty to 50%. The appeal was allowed with no costs.