Interest waiver discretion under income tax law upheld where partial relief was granted and no basis for full waiver was shown.

A petitioner seeking full waiver of interest under section 220(2A) of the Income-tax Act was denied relief beyond the partial waiver already granted by the Commissioner. The High Court noted that the statutory conditions for complete waiver were not fully satisfied, as the tax was not paid voluntarily and was recovered through coercive measures, including attachment and sale of immovable properties. Since the Commissioner had already accepted financial hardship and exercised discretion to grant a 50 per cent waiver, and no material justified interference or reconsideration, the challenge failed. A more liberal waiver in another case was held to be no ground for judicial intervention.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to full waiver of interest under section 220(2A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, instead of the 50 per cent waiver granted by the Commissioner.

Analysis: The petitioner had not satisfied all the conditions for waiver of interest because the tax was not paid voluntarily and was recovered by coercive measures, including attachment and sale of immovable properties. The Commissioner had already accepted financial hardship and granted a partial waiver. The order challenged was a discretionary order of the statutory authority, and no material was shown to warrant interference or a direction for reconsideration. The existence of a more liberal waiver in another case was held to be no ground for judicial interference.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to full waiver of interest and the challenge to the partial waiver order failed.

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