9911796707
TMI Blog2004 (2) TMI 26X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the late Smt. Kamlaben Apte, who was assessed to tax under the Income-tax Act. For the assessment years 1981-82 and 1984-85 to 1988-89, the returns of income were filed by the assessee voluntarily but belatedly. It was the case of Smt. Kamlaben that the returns could not be filed in time, because of the breakdown of the relationship with her three sons and at the relevant time the accounts were not maintained properly. The said returns of income were regularised by issue of notice under section 148 of the Income-tax Act and were accepted as correct and the assessment orders were passed accordingly with penalty and interest for delay in filing the returns and delay in payment of advance tax. On November 1, 1990, the said Smt. Kamlaben made ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he same has been accepted by the Assessing Officer. He submitted that all the pre-conditions laid down in section 273A has been fulfilled and, therefore, the penalty and interest levied ought to have been waived. He submitted that the provisions of section 273A of the Income-tax Act are in the nature of amnesty provisions, the object of which was to encourage defaulting taxpayers to come clean on their own, prior to the detection by the Department and disclose the unassessed income and pay taxes thereon. He submitted that the provisions of section 273A of the Income-tax Act come into play only when the liability is established and if there is no case for imposition of penalty, then the said provision is not attracted at all. He submitted th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... g returns voluntarily and in good faith and the taxes payable thereon had been duly paid by the assessee before service of any notice upon the assessee and before detection of the same by the income-tax authorities. Accordingly, he submitted that all the conditions of section 273A of the Income-tax Act being satisfied, the Commissioner of Income-tax ought to have entertained the application made by the assessee. Mr. R.V. Desai, the learned senior advocate appearing on behalf of the respondents, on the other hand, submitted that, in the present case, even though the returns were filed before the issue of notice, they were filed subsequent to the query raised by the audit party in respect of the firm in which the assessee was the partner. He ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n-filing of returns for the assessment years in question. It is also not in dispute that the disclosure of income made by the assessee has been accepted by the income-tax authorities as full disclosure of income and the assessments have been made as per the returns filed by the assessee. The fact that the audit party had raised a query to the firm regarding the payments made by it to the assessee as a partner of the firm was not intimated to the assessee. As the assessee was not aware of any query raised by the audit party, it could not be said that the returns filed by the assessee were not voluntary. It is not the case of the Revenue that the assessee had suppressed the fact that she had a source of income from the firm. In fact, up to th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... notice under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, when in fact, the returns were filed, though belatedly, before the issuance of notice under section 148 of the Income-tax Act. In that context, referring to the letters addressed by the assessee in reply to the notices issued under section 148 of the Income-tax Act requesting the Assessing Officer to treat the returns which were time-barred as returns in compliance with the notice under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, it was held that the Commissioner of Income-tax was justified in holding that the returns were filed in pursuance of notice under section 148 of the Income-tax Act. Accordingly, it was held that the returns which were filed pursuant to the notice under section 148 of the Inco ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ned in the order and not on the basis of the reasons set out in the affidavit in reply and, secondly, under section 273A of the Income-tax Act, for waiver of penalty and interest what is relevant is the full and true disclosure made voluntarily in good faith, whether by way of belated returns or otherwise. In this view of the matter, we quash and set aside the order of the Commissioner of Income-tax passed under section 273A of the Income-tax Act on March 25, 1994, and remand the matter back to the Commissioner of Income-tax to decide the application regarding reduction or waiver of penalty and interest on the merits on the footing that all the pre-conditions for grant of waiver of penalty and interest contemplated under section 273A of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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