Penalty for undisclosed turnover is maintainable when no revised return is filed and tax is unpaid before assessment.

Penalty under section 12(5) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act was held maintainable where the assessee failed to disclose turnover in the return and did not file a revised return or pay the tax on the omitted turnover before completion of assessment. On the stated facts, the basis for deleting the penalty was absent, and the minimum penalty was restored. The principle stated is that nondisclosure of turnover attracts penalty when the omission is not cured by a revised return and payment before assessment is completed.

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Issues: Whether penalty under section 12(5) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 was rightly deleted when the assessee failed to disclose turnover in the return and no revised return or payment of tax was made before completion of assessment.

Analysis: The assessee had not disclosed turnover of Rs. 38,500 in the return. The record did not show that a revised return was filed or that the tax attributable to the undisclosed turnover was paid before the assessment was completed. In such a situation, the statutory basis for deleting the penalty was absent, and the authorities below were justified in levying the minimum penalty.

Conclusion: The deletion of penalty was unsustainable and the penalty under section 12(5) was restored.

Ratio Decidendi: Penalty for nondisclosure of turnover is maintainable where the assessee neither files a revised return nor pays the tax due on the omitted turnover before completion of assessment.

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