1977 (10) TMI 34

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..... according to the Diwali year and for the relevant assessment year 1963-64, the previous year ended on October 28, 1962. The return of the assessee ought to have been filed under section 139(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, latest by June 30, 1963. It is the case of the assessee that it filed on or about June 15, 1963, an application in Form No. 6 requesting for an extension of time for filing the return which was due on June 30, 1963. Ultimately, the assessee filed the return on March 30, 1964, disclosing an income of Rs. 1,08,696. The Income-tax Officer made an assessment under section 143(3) determining the tax payable by the assessee at Rs. 6,968 and levied interest in accordance with the proviso to section 139(1) in the sum of Rs. 2,535 .....

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..... ss of the chief accountant, the order imposing penalty was confirmed by the Tribunal. It is from this order of the Tribunal that the above question has been referred for our determination. Mr. Dewani on behalf of the assessee submitted that when penalty is imposed under section 271(1)(a), the onus is upon the department to show that the assessee failed to file the return within the time stipulated in clause (a) of section 271(1) and that such onus in the present case has not been discharged by the department. He, therefore, submitted that the taxing authorities and the Tribunal were in error in confirming the order imposing the penalty. Without going into the question whether the burden lies upon the revenue or the assessee to show that t .....

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..... not received and the sickness of the chief accountant. No evidence whatsoever was produced by the assessee at any stage either before the taxing authorities or the Tribunal when such accounts were received from the various branches and what was the illness of the chief accountant. In fact, with the reply to the show-cause notice no particulars whatsoever were furnished. Such being the position, as admittedly the return, though required to be filed on June 30, 1963, was filed on March 30, 1964, the taxing authorities and the Tribunal were right in taking the view that there was no reasonable cause for the failure on the part of the assessee to file the return within the prescribed period. In that view of the matter, the order imposing the p .....

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