Belated income tax return does not cure default under section 139(1); penalty under section 271(1)(a) remains leviable.

Filing a return under section 139(4) does not cure an earlier failure to furnish the return within the time prescribed by section 139(1); the belated return is treated as supplementary and the default continues to subsist. On that basis, the statutory conditions for penalty under section 271(1)(a) were satisfied, so the penalty was leviable.

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Issues: Whether the filing of a return of income under section 139(4) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, absolves the assessee of the default in complying with section 139(1) of the Act, and if not, whether penalty under section 271(1)(a) is leviable.

Analysis: The return filed under section 139(4) was treated as a belated return and did not cure the earlier failure to furnish the return within the time prescribed by section 139(1). The default under section 139(1) therefore continued to subsist notwithstanding the subsequent filing. On that footing, the statutory conditions for imposition of penalty under section 271(1)(a) were satisfied.

Conclusion: The filing of a return under section 139(4) did not absolve the assessee of the default under section 139(1), and penalty under section 271(1)(a) was leviable.

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