9911796707
TMI Blog1979 (7) TMI 49X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . The ITO imposed penalty on the petitioner for both the years for not filing the return within time. We may take up the facts of Writ Petition No. 791 of 1973. The assessee did not file the return of its income for the assessment year 1961-62 within the time specified in the notice under s. 22(1) of the Indian I.T. Act of 1922. A notice was accordingly served on it, under s. 22(2) on May, 1961. It should have filed the return by July 4, 1961, but it actually filed it on December 28,1962,after a delay of more than l7 months. The assessment was completed on April 19, 1963, and a notice was issued to the assessee on the same day calling upon it to show cause why a penalty should not be levied under s. 271(1)(a) of the I.T. Act, 1961. The I ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Constitution praying that the order, Ex. 1, be quashed and the CIT be directed to entertain the petitioner's application under s. 271(4A) of the Act and dispose of it according to law. We do not consider it necessary to narrate in detail the facts giving rise to Petition No. 1392 of 1973, as the facts are almost the same except that the assessment year and the amount of penalty are different. The short point involved in these cases is, whether the Commissioner has no power to entertain a prayer for reduction of penalty imposed in respect of the period prior to the coming into force of sub-s. (4A) of s. 271 of the Act, i.e., before March 12, 1965. Sub-s. (4A) of s. 271 reads as under : " (4A) Notwithstanding anything contained in c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in respect of the relevant assessment year, or where such disclosure relates to more than one assessment year, the aggregate of the minimum penalty imposable in respect of those years, exceeds a sum of rupees fifty thousand, no order reducing or waiving the penalty shall be made by the Commissioner unless the previous approval of the Board has been obtained." Even sub-s. (4A) was omitted by the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1975, with effect from October 1, 1975, and a new s. 273A was inserted by the Finance Act of 1978, with effect from June 1, 1978. We may also usefully reproduce the relevant portion of s. 273A : " 273A. Power to reduce or waive penalty, etc., in certain cases.--(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 71(4A) came into force in 1965, after the close of the assessment year 1964-65, the section will still apply to assessment year 1964-65 because the amendment being a beneficial provision in a procedural law, will apply to the proceedings pending at the time the section came into force. It is significant to point out that the Amending Act of 1978 has deleted the existing sub-ss. (4A) and (4B) of s. 271 of the Act relating to the powers of the Commissioner to reduce or waive penalty in certain cases and re-enacted this provision with several modifications in the new s. 273A. We are not concerned with the other points of difference, but one of the main points of difference between s. 271(4A) and the new s. 273A is that under the new section, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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