Penalty for delayed statutory report filing sustained where delay was unexplained and no substantial question of law arose.

Penalty for delayed filing of the statutory report under Section 61 of the Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act was sustained because the delay was substantial and the dealer's explanation did not establish that it resulted from factors beyond its control. The Tribunal's discretionary power under the proviso to Section 61(2) was held to have been properly exercised, and the subsequent reduction of the penalty in second appeal was treated as a measured response. No jurisdictional or legal error was shown in the Tribunal's order, and no substantial question of law arose.

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Issues: Whether the penalty imposed for delayed filing of the statutory report under Section 61 of the Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act, 2002 called for interference, and whether any substantial question of law arose.

Analysis: The delay in filing the report was substantial, and the explanation offered for it was not found sufficient to show that the delay was caused by factors beyond the dealer's control. The discretionary power to impose penalty under the proviso to Section 61(2) was therefore properly exercised by the Tribunal. The reduction of the penalty in second appeal also reflected a measured approach, and no jurisdictional or legal error was shown in the Tribunal's order.

Conclusion: The penalty was rightly sustained, and no substantial question of law arose.

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