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TMI Blog1976 (3) TMI 84X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Tax Payable 1965-66 Rs. 3,07,854 Rs. 1,039 1966-67 Rs. 3,58,216 Rs. 1,291 (Rs. 894 u/s 35) 1967-68 Rs. 4,07,860 Rs. 1,039 1968-69 Rs. 4,49,920 Rs. 1,250 1969-70 Rs. 4,59,930 Rs. 1,300 1970-71 Rs. 4,56,768 Rs. 415 1971-72 Rs. 4,20,365 Rs. 2,182 1972-73 Rs. 4,26,911 Rs. 4,226 Subsequently at the time of 73-74 assessment, the WTO noticed that the respondent had not admitted all the vacant sites owned by him in Chilakaluripet in the original wealth-tax returns. He therefore, reopened the wealth-tax assessments for all the above years and recomputed the wealth as f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Rs. 19,619 1972-73 Rs. 21,139 Rs. 252 Rs. 21,139 1973-74 Rs. 16,000 Rs. 166 Rs. 16,000 It appears that at the time of making the assessments for the asst. yr. 1973-74, the WTO, noticed that the respondent had sold 5.58 cents of vacant site in Chilakaluripet for Rs. 1,000 and the sale value was credited to his capital account. He sought to verify the item sold with reference to the sites admitted by him for the purpose of wealth-tax for the prior years. He was of the view that the respondent had not disclosed all the items of wealth. He collected full details from the assessee regarding the extent of sites owned by him in Chilakaluripet from the beginning and also the details f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hese reasons and other reasons set out in the orders of penalty, the WTO levied the penalties on the view that there was clear concealment of wealth. The assessee went up in appeals to the AAC challenging the orders of penalty. In a lucid and well-reasoned order, the AAC quashed the orders of penalty. The final conclusion of the AAC has been summed up in his own words as follows: "This is a simple case of omission without any guilty intention. After all, the assessee has been showing a wealth to the extent of nearly Rs. 4 lakhs every year and it is unthinkable that he would have though of concealing these small sites to the value of Rs. 15,000 from his wealth. It is also pertinent to point out in this context that the assessee had after ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... disadvantage to some interested party from whom the fact is withheld. At page 249 of Mens Rea in Statutory Offences by J.LL.J. Edwards, the learned author observes: "Where all that is meant is that the accused s conduct must be a voluntarily expression of his will, this is a basic principle which runs throughout the whole field of criminal liability. Whether the crime originated at common law or by statutory enactment, and whether the crime is one of absolute prohibition or one involving proof of a guilty mind. All that involves is the principle that the act must be attributable to the accused i.e. it must have been done intentionally and not accidentally. These are the principles well entrenched in a criminal jurisprudence. It is well ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r. 1964-65 on purely estimate basis was adequate for the entire sites owned by the assessee, even though he omitted in include the value of the entire sites in his wealth-tax returns. Learned counsel for the respondent has contended that the assessee proceeded on an erroneous impression that the WTO s estimate at Rs. 10,000 has covered the value of the entire sites situated in Chilakaluripet. It also appeals that taking the value of all these sites at Rs. 10,000 as the basis, the assessee proceeded to reduce this value of Rs. 10,000 by subsequent sales. It is not denied and indeed it is undeniable that the books were examined by the ITO who also performed the duties of the WTO at the time of original assessments. Mr. Swamy, the learned coun ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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