2013 (7) TMI 115 - HC - Income Tax

Waiver of Interest u/s 234A and 234B - Delay in filing return - Held that - Delay in filing the return was on account of the seized materials not being returned to the assessee and if the said materials were very much available for filing return under Section 153A of the Act. Then it is open to the assessee to approach the Revenue Authorities for waiver of interest. Even after making out a case for waiver and the waiver is not granted by the Authorities, then it could be said that the assessee is aggrieved and then he can approach this Court. As rightly pointed out by the Tribunal that no material is brought on record to show that the absence of seized materials or the fact that there was a delay on the part of the Revenue in giving the seized material was the reason for the delay in filing the return of income, the assessee cannot be granted any relief as prayed for - Decided in favour of revenue.

Summary

Issues:
- Challenge to order rejecting relief under Section 234A and B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 based on delay in filing returns due to seized materials availability.
- Interpretation of Section 234A and 234B regarding interest for defaults in furnishing return of income and payment of advance tax.
- Comparison with previous judgment in T P Indrakumar case regarding waiver of interest.

Analysis:
The judgment pertains to appeals filed by the assessee against a Tribunal order denying relief under Section 234A and B of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The assessee contended that the delayed filing of returns was due to the delayed availability of seized materials, and thus interest should not be charged for the delay. However, the Tribunal, relying on the M S Ghaswala case, found no evidence linking the delay to the absence of seized materials or revenue's delay in providing them. The Tribunal suggested approaching Authorities for waiver of interest if desired. The assessee, aggrieved by this decision, filed the appeals.

The counsel for the assessee argued that the Tribunal should have considered the reasons for the delay, citing the T P Indrakumar case where interest under Section 234A and B was not charged. Section 234A deals with interest for defaults in furnishing return of income, while Section 234B pertains to interest for defaults in advance tax payment. The principle behind levying interest is to compensate the Revenue for the loss incurred due to delayed tax payment or return filing, benefiting the assessee. The T P Indrakumar case highlighted the possibility of waiver to avoid adverse consequences, but in the present case, the delay was attributed to seized materials not being returned promptly, affecting the return filing under Section 153A.

The judgment emphasized that if the seized materials were available for filing the return under Section 153A, the assessee could seek waiver of interest from Revenue Authorities. Failure to provide evidence linking the delay to the absence of seized materials or revenue's delay led to the dismissal of the appeals. The judgment concluded that no substantial question of law arose for consideration on merits, admission, or consideration, resulting in the dismissal of the appeals.