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Assessment of penalty under section 271(1)(c) of the IT Act, 1961 based on the filing of a revised return voluntarily or under pressure from the Department. Analysis: The appeal was filed by the assessee against the order of the learned CIT(A) pertaining to the assessment year 1984-85. The assessee filed a revised return declaring an income of Rs. 40,000, which was enhanced by the AO to Rs. 59,479. The AO also initiated penalty proceedings under section 271(1)(c) of the IT Act, 1961. The Tribunal accepted the declared income of Rs. 40,000 as correct, but the AO levied a penalty of Rs. 8,000, alleging that the revised return was not voluntary. The Department claimed that the revised return was filed under pressure after detailed inquiries from the Bank of Rajasthan, while the assessee contended that it was filed voluntarily without prior notice from the Department regarding the transactions with the bank. The CIT(A)'s order revealed that the AO had requested details from the Bank of Rajasthan in October 1989, and upon receiving information in January 1990, the books of account were seized, and a revised return was filed by the assessee. The Department presumed that the assessee was aware of the proceedings and was compelled to file the revised return. However, the Tribunal confirmed that the notice under section 148 was issued after the revised return was filed, indicating that the assessee rectified its mistake voluntarily within the available time. The Tribunal concluded that unless there was conclusive evidence that the assessee was pressured by Department inquiries to file the revised return, the penalty proceedings could not lead to a successful levy of penalty. Since the revised return was accepted by the Tribunal, and the notice under section 148 was issued after the revised return was filed, it was deemed that the assessee filed the revised return voluntarily. Consequently, the grounds of appeal by the assessee were accepted, and the appeal was allowed in favor of the assessee.
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