Concealment penalty under the 1961 Income-tax Act applies where reassessment is completed after 1 April 1962, despite earlier returns.

For assessments relating to years ending on or before 31 March 1962 but completed on or after 1 April 1962, concealment penalty proceedings are governed by section 297(2)(g) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and penalty is imposed under the 1961 Act. The date on which the original return was filed or the concealment occurred does not displace the saving provision. Section 297(2) draws a distinction between assessments completed before and after 1 April 1962, and the later completion date brings the matter within the new Act even for earlier assessment years. Hardship from the minimum penalty under the 1961 Act cannot override the statutory language.

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Issues: Whether penalty for concealment of income under section 271(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 was valid where the original returns were filed before 1 April 1962 but the reassessment and penalty proceedings were completed after that date, and whether section 297(2)(f) or section 297(2)(g) governed the matter.

Analysis: Section 297(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 makes a clear distinction between assessments completed before 1 April 1962 and those completed on or after that date. Where the assessment is completed after 1 April 1962 in respect of an earlier year, proceedings for penalty may be initiated and the penalty may be imposed under the 1961 Act. The date of concealment or filing of the original return does not control the operation of the specific saving provision. The earlier decisions relied on by the assessee concerned different statutes or cases where the statutory saving provision equivalent to section 297(2)(g) was absent. Hardship arising from the minimum penalty under the 1961 Act cannot override the plain language of the provision.

Conclusion: The penalty under section 271(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 was validly imposed, and the case fell under section 297(2)(g), not section 297(2)(f), of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Ratio Decidendi: For assessments relating to years ending on or before 31 March 1962 but completed on or after 1 April 1962, penalty proceedings for concealment are governed by section 297(2)(g) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and the penalty is to be imposed under the 1961 Act, irrespective of when the concealed income was originally returned.

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