Delayed return interest does not bar penalty when statute contains no express exclusion for cumulative liabilities.

Interest levied for delayed filing under section 139 of the Income-tax Act does not, by itself, bar the Income-tax Officer from imposing penalty under section 271(1)(a). In the absence of an express statutory provision making interest an alternative to, or substitution for, penalty, the two liabilities operate cumulatively for the same default. The earlier challenge to the constitutional validity of the penalty provision had been rejected, and the levy of interest was therefore treated as not mutually exclusive with penalty. The question was answered against the assessee.

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Issues: Whether levy of interest under section 139 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 bars the Income-tax Officer from imposing penalty under section 271(1)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: The absence of any provision in the Act making the levy of interest under section 139 an alternative to, or in substitution for, penalty under section 271(1)(a) meant that both liabilities could operate cumulatively. The challenge to the constitutional validity of the penalty provision had earlier been repelled, and the view that the two levies were not mutually exclusive was accepted.

Conclusion: The levy of interest under section 139 did not prevent imposition of penalty under section 271(1)(a); the question was answered in the affirmative, against the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: In the absence of an express statutory bar, levy of interest for delayed filing does not preclude simultaneous imposition of penalty for the same default.

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