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TMI Blog1997 (2) TMI 182X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... payable by the M.S.E.B. out of which the tax was deductible at source under section 194A of the Act. However, the assessee deducted only 10% by way of income-tax instead of 20% that was deductible at source as per the Act. The details of this were filed by the assessee in Form No. 26A on 17-3-1988. For the delay in depositing the tax to the account of Central Government by committing a default, the Assessing Officer charged interest amounting to Rs. 1,21,137 under section 201(1A) of the Act. Aggrieved by the above order, the assessee appealed before the learned CIT(Appeals). The learned CIT(Appeals) vide his order dated 11-2-1991 held that the Income-tax Officer, Chandrapur had no jurisdiction to levy the interest. Therefore, he cancelled the order of the ITO. Aggrieved by the above order, the revenue appealed before the Tribunal and the Tribunal remanded the matter back to the file of the CIT(Appeals) for fresh consideration vide its order dated 26-11-1993 in ITA No. 446/Nag/1991 on the following lines :--- " Therefore, the matter is restored back at the file of the CIT(Appeals) with direction that he shall go through the entire material afresh and he would record a finding of f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ngineer to the Income-tax Officer having jurisdiction to assess the M.S.E.B. He further held that even if the Superintending Engineer has wrongly filed the statement before the Income-tax Officer, Chandrapur, the Income-tax Officer, Chandrapur had no jurisdiction to look into the statement since he had no jurisdiction to assess the M.S.E.B. Consequently, he is not competent to levy interest under section 201(1A) also. Here the person who had jurisdiction to pass an order under section 201 levying interest was the Income-tax Officer having jurisdiction to assess the M.S.E.B. In view of the above, the learned CIT(Appeals) allowed the appeal by the assessee. It is against this order, the revenue is in appeal before the Tribunal. 4. The learned Departmental Representative, on behalf of the revenue, submitted that the Superintending Engineer, O & M Division, M.S.E.B., Chandrapur is the principal officer. There was a short-fall in the deduction and delay in depositing the amount in the Government account on the part of the Superintending Engineer. He further submitted that there is a list of principal officers of the M.S.E.B. and Superintending Engineer is one of them. As such, the lear ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing interest under section 201 levying interest can be only passed by the said Assessing Officer. The learned counsel for the assessee submitted that section 36A was inserted by the 6th Amendment to Income-tax Rules, 1988 with effect from 12-7-1988 so as to fill this lacuna. The learned counsel further submitted that so as to make a person to be designated as a principal officer with respect to a company as defined under section 2(35) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, two ingredients must be satisfied, namely, (1) he must be connected with the management and administration, the company, and (2) the Income-tax Officer must have served a notice on him proposing to treat him as a principal officer of the company. In the instant case of the assessee, the Superintending Engineer of the M.S.E.B. may be connected with some kind of administration or management but he is not actually the administrator or manager as contemplated under section 2(35) of the Act so as to make him responsible. For this proposition, the learned counsel relied upon the decision of the Hon'ble Andhra Pradesh High Court in the case of ITO v. Official Liquidator [1977] 106 ITR 119. 6. We have heard the rival submissions ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1 from such person, principal officer or company unless the Assessing Officer is satisfied that such person or principal officer or company, as the case may be, has without good and sufficient reasons failed to deduct and pay the tax. 201(1A). Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1), if any such person, principal officer or company as is referred to in that sub-section does not deduct or after deducting fails to pay the tax as required by or under this Act, he or it shall be liable to pay simple interest at fifteen per cent per annum on the amount of such tax from the date on which such tax was deductible to the date on which such tax is actually paid. Person deducting tax to furnish prescribed returns. 206. The prescribed person in the case of every office of Government, the principal officer in the case of every company, the prescribed person in the case of every local authority or other public body or association, every private employer and every other person responsible for deducting tax under the foregoing provisions of this Chapter shall within the prescribed time after the end of each financial year, prepare and deliver or cause to be delivered to the presc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... persuade ourselves to accept this proposition of the learned counsel. The person responsible for paying interest on the deposits of the customers is the Superintending Engineer, M.S.E.B., Chandrapur, being acting as an agent. Perusal of the order of the Tribunal in ITA No. 446/Nag/91 dated 26-11-1993 vide para 2 in which the Tribunal recorded the submissions of the Departmental Representative, makes it clear that there is a list of principal officers of the M.S.E.B. and Superintending Engineer is one of them. The words used in section 285 of the Act states that "the person responsible for paying any interest, shall on or before the fifteenth day of June in each year, furnish to the Income-tax Officer, having jurisdiction to assess him" could only mean, in the instant case, the Superintending Engineer. Therefore, the contention of the assessee's counsel that the person responsible in the instant case should be taken as the officer who has assessed the MSEB cannot be accepted in view of the fact, that in this section, the word used is "him". If the Legislature intended to make the company and the ITO responsible for assessing the company, nothing prevented the Legislature to use the ..... 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