Penalty for late return filing turned on factual period of default, with no referable question of law arising

A penalty for late filing under section 271(1)(a) was confined to the period after the assessee's reasonable cause had ended, because the Tribunal found sufficient cause only up to 31 December 1976 and no excuse thereafter. That limitation depended on the Tribunal's factual assessment of the period of default, not on a referable question of law under section 256(2). The second question therefore did not arise from the Tribunal's order, and the petition was dismissed.

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Issues: Whether any referable question of law arose from the Tribunal's confirmation of penalty under section 271(1)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for the period after the assessee's reasonable cause for delay had ceased.

Analysis: The Tribunal had found that the assessee had reasonable and sufficient cause for non-filing of the return up to 31 December 1976, but no such excuse existed thereafter. Since the return was filed only in February 1977, the restriction of penalty to one month rested on the Tribunal's factual appreciation of the period of default. Such a conclusion was essentially one of fact and did not give rise to a referable question of law under section 256(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The second question was held not to arise out of the Tribunal's order.

Conclusion: No referable question of law arose on the first issue, and the petition was dismissed.

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