Penalty for short delay in sales tax returns was unsustainable where the explanation for lateness was accepted.

Penalty under section 12(5)(ii) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act was held unsustainable where the delay in filing monthly returns was very short and the assessee offered a plausible explanation. The Court accepted that the returns were not filed on time because the regional manager was away, noted that returns had otherwise been filed within the relevant month in several instances, and relied on the fact that similar reasons had been accepted in the assessee's own case earlier. On those facts, the Tribunal's view that penalty could not be imposed was upheld and the deletion of penalty was sustained.

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Issues: Whether penalty under section 12(5)(ii) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act was liable to be sustained despite the short delay in filing monthly returns and the explanation offered for the delay.

Analysis: The delay in filing the monthly returns was found to be very negligible. The explanation that the returns could not be filed in time because the regional manager was away was accepted, and the returns had otherwise been filed within the relevant month in several instances. The Court also noted that similar reasons had earlier been accepted in the assessee's own case. On that basis, the Tribunal's view that the penalty could not be sustained was held to be correct.

Conclusion: Penalty under section 12(5)(ii) was not warranted, and the deletion of penalty was upheld in favour of the assessee.

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