9911796707
TMI Blog1989 (8) TMI 67X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . In the search operations, certain cash, stocks and books of account pertaining to the assessee were seized. The assessee along with other members of his family made a combined petition dated April 2, 1974, under section 271(4A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (for short "the Act"), to the Income-tax Commissioner, offering a sum of Rs. 80,000 to be taxed. Subsequently, this petition was withdrawn and another petition was filed on April 15, 1975, in which different amounts were offered for the assessment years 1973-74 to 1975-76 to be taxed being the amounts of unexplained income. It is not necessary to give the details of the amounts for each year. The assessee also filed a revised return for the assessment year in question on May 21, 1975, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1975. In this view of the matter, the Tribunal did not address itself, on merits, to the question whether any penalty was leviable or not, on facts. At the instance of the Revenue, the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, B-Bench, New Delhi, has referred the following question under section 256 (1) of the Act for the opinion of this court: "Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal was correct in law in holding that the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner had no jurisdiction to levy penalty of Rs. 30,000 under section 271 (1)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, for the assessment year 1973-74 on March 13, 1978 ?" The assessee is not represented in this case ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e in section 271 (1) (c) and a proviso to section 271(1)(iii) was added to the effect that in a case falling under clause(c), the amount of income (as determined by the Income-tax Officer on assessment) in respect of which-the particulars have been concealed or inaccurate particulars have been furnished, exceeds the sum of Rs. 25,000, the Income-tax Officer shall not issue any direction for payment by way of penalty without the previous approval of the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner. The effect of the aforesaid proviso was that under the amended provisions, the Income-tax Officer is empowered to levy penalty for concealment irrespective of the quantum of penalty or concealed income, subject to the restriction that in a case where the con ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e authority must continue to be clothed with that power throughout the period the matter is pending before it. In other words, in order to justify the penalty order, it is not enough to show that the officer imposing the penalty was possessed of that jurisdiction when the proceedings were initiated, but it must also be shown that he continued to have that jurisdiction during the pendency of the proceedings and also on the date the final order was passed. According to the second view, if at any time subsequent to the initiation of the proceedings by an amendment made to the law under which the power conferred on an officer to initiate the proceedings, the said officer is divested of such power without any reservation and the same is vested i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... we are concerned, but resulting from the amendment in subsection (2) of section 274, by the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1970, with effect from April 1, 1971, to provide for reference to the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner only in such cases in which the concealed income, as determined by the Income-tax Officer on assessment, exceeded Rs. 25,000. The principle enunciated in the case of Om Sons [1979] 116 ITR 215 (All) was followed and applied by this court to the controversy as arising in the instant case in Ganesh Dass Ram Gopal v. IAC of I.T. [1983] 142 ITR 101 (All) and Mohd. Oais and Co. v. CIT [1983] 142 ITR 104 (All), where the amendment made by the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1975, omitting subsection (2) of section 274 was co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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