Discretionary penalty under sales tax law cannot be revised merely for a different view when the appellate authority acts on relevant facts.

Penalty under section 12-B of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act was discretionary within the statutory maximum and had to be fixed on relevant facts. The appellate authority validly reduced the penalty after considering that the tax liability arose from an amendment, no tax had been collected, and the assessee was under financial stress. The appellate power under section 20 was co-extensive with the assessing authority, so the Commissioner could not revise that order under section 22-A merely because he preferred a different view. Revisional interference was therefore unwarranted, and restoration of the original penalty could not stand.

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Issues: Whether the Commissioner could revise the appellate authority's order reducing penalty under the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957, on the ground that the Deputy Commissioner had exercised discretion wrongly.

Analysis: The penalty under section 12-B was not mandatory in a rigid sense but had to be imposed within the statutory maximum by exercising sound discretion on the facts of each case. The appellate authority had considered the material circumstances, including the fact that the tax liability arose because of an amendment, the assessee had not collected tax, and the assessee was under financial stress. Those were relevant considerations in deciding whether the penalty should be reduced. The appellate power under section 20 was co-extensive with that of the assessing authority in relation to penalty under section 12-B. The Commissioner, while exercising revisional power under section 22-A, could not interfere merely because he would have taken a different view, especially when the appellate authority had acted within jurisdiction and on relevant materials.

Conclusion: The revisional interference was unwarranted and the reduction of penalty by the appellate authority was valid; the order restoring the original penalty could not stand.

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