9911796707
TMI Blog2012 (1) TMI 150X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t time. The books of accounts of the assessee having been accepted at that stage also did not reflect any intention to evade any payment of tax. The penalty imposed, therefore, is not justified and it is deleted. - Sales/Trade Tax Revision No. 315 of 2004 - - - Dated:- 5-1-2012 - BHARATI SAPRU J. Kunwar Saksena for the petitioner V.K. Pandey, Standing Counsel, for the respondent JUDGMENT Heard learned counsel for the revisionist Shri Kunwar Saksena and Shri V.K. Pandey, learned standing counsel for the State. The present revision has been filed by the assessee against an order of the Tribunal dated November 17, 2003, by which the Tribunal has imposed a penalty of ₹ 1,00,000 on the assessee under the provision ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ade Tax Act were initiated and the assessing authority did not accept the contentions as raised by the assessee and imposed penalty upon the assessee. Against the order passed by the assessing authority dated November 29, 1995, the applicant-assessee preferred an appeal before the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) claiming that it was a new unit, which has been granted exemption on the basis of eligibility certificate under section 4A of the Act and, therefore, this itself was nothing to show that there was intention on the part of the assessee to evade any tax. When the final product was not taxable, then the raw material could not have been taxed also. This contention of the assessee was accepted by the first appellate authority and the pe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in view of the exemption granted under section 4A and, therefore, it cannot be said that there was any intention to evade tax. Lastly, learned counsel has also argued that, in fact, the books of accounts of the assessee were accepted for the year. In order to establish this, he has filed the assessment order of the year in question before this court, which indeed shows that the books of accounts of the assessee were accepted. In support of his argument, learned counsel for the assessee has relied on various decisions of this court and of the apex court wherein a view has been taken that mere breach of the provisions of section 28A are not sufficient for imposition of penalty unless it is well established by way of findings that there ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of all the provisions of section 28A of the Act and in order to impose a penalty under section 15A(1)(o) of the Act, it is necessary that the Tribunal must return a clear finding that there was intention to evade the tax. In this particular case, the Tribunal has not returned the findings. On the other hand, the Tribunal has held that it is not necessary to establish mens rea in order to impose the penalty. The penalty, which has been imposed on the assessee, therefore, is not justified in the facts and circumstances of the case, which are that at the relevant time the assessee was an exempted unit and its final product was exempted and it was not liable to pay any tax at that time. The books of accounts of the assessee having been acce ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
