Penalty for delayed VAT payment was set aside where tax was paid with interest and no revenue loss was shown.

Penalty for delayed payment of admitted VAT was held unjustified where the tax was ultimately paid with interest and no financial loss to the revenue was shown. The Court upheld the Tribunal's view that, on these facts, levy of penalty under the VAT Act for belated deposit was not warranted, and the penalty could not be sustained against the assessee. The substantial questions of law were answered against the revenue, and the revisions failed.

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Issues: Whether penalty was justified for delayed payment of admitted tax under the VAT Act where the tax was paid along with interest, and whether the Tribunal was right in setting aside the penalty.

Analysis: The revisions arose from a common controversy concerning levy of penalty for belated deposit of tax. The assessing authority had imposed penalty under Section 58(1)(vii) of the VAT Act, the first appellate authority reduced it, and the Tribunal set aside the penalty. The Court found no infirmity in the Tribunal's view. It noted that the delayed payment had already carried interest, and therefore no financial loss had accrued to the revenue. In these circumstances, the penalty for belated payment was held to be unwarranted on the facts of the case.

Conclusion: The penalty was not sustainable, and the finding was against the revenue and in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The substantial questions of law were answered against the revenue, and the revisions failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where delayed tax has been paid with interest and no revenue loss is shown, penalty for belated payment is not justified on the facts of the case.

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