Penalty under the Interest Tax Act fails where non-filing arose from bona fide belief and no wilful concealment was found.

Penalty under Section 13 of the Interest Tax Act, 1974 was held unsustainable where the assessee failed to file the return under a bona fide belief that no return was required and the authorities recorded no wilful concealment. The Tribunal's deletion of penalty was supportable on that factual basis, and the additional point that proceedings under the Income-tax Act had not alerted the assessee to the separate Interest Tax Act liability did not alter the result. The penalty deletion was therefore sustained in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether penalty under Section 13 of the Interest Tax Act, 1974 was leviable for failure to file return and pay interest tax where the assessee claimed bona fide ignorance and no wilful concealment was found.

Analysis: Section 13 of the Interest Tax Act, 1974 permits penalty where a person conceals particulars of chargeable interest or furnishes inaccurate particulars. On the facts, the assessee had not filed the return under a bona fide impression that no such return was required, and the appellate authority had recorded absence of wilful concealment. The Tribunal's deletion of penalty was therefore supportable independently of the additional reasoning that the assessment proceedings under the Income-tax Act had not alerted the assessee to the separate liability under the Interest Tax Act.

Conclusion: Penalty under Section 13 was not leviable, and the deletion of penalty was upheld in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The appeals failed and the penalty deletion sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: Penalty for concealment under Section 13 of the Interest Tax Act, 1974 is unsustainable where the assessee acted under a bona fide belief and the finding of no wilful concealment is recorded.

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