Concessional tax rate depends on timely production of prescribed forms; concurrent factual findings of negligence defeated remand.

Entitlement to concessional tax rate depended on compliance with the statutory requirement to produce the prescribed forms, and the authorities found the assessee's explanation for non-production of the 'C' forms to be belated and unsupported by the record. The appellate authority and Tribunal concurrently held that the assessee was negligent, and the question of sufficient cause was treated as one of fact. No legal error or question of law was shown to justify interference or remand, so the finding of no sufficient cause was upheld and remand was declined.

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Issues: Whether the assessee had made out sufficient cause for non-production of the 'C' forms so as to justify remand and interference with the concurrent findings of fact.

Analysis: The entitlement to concessional rate of tax depended upon compliance with the statutory conditions for production of the prescribed forms. The circumstances relating to the 'C' forms were found to be materially different from the earlier 'D' form transactions. The assessee's explanation for non-production of the 'C' forms was considered belated and unsupported by the record. The appellate authority and the Tribunal concurrently held that the assessee was negligent, and the question whether sufficient cause existed was treated as one of fact. No legal error or question of law was shown in the refusal to remand the matter.

Conclusion: The finding that no sufficient cause was made out was upheld and the request for remand was declined.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the authorities concurrently find, on the facts, that the assessee was negligent in failing to produce the prescribed forms within time, the existence of sufficient cause is a question of fact and does not by itself give rise to a question of law warranting remand.

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