Concealment penalty turns on the return filing date, so the amended penalty law applies after the amendment date.

For concealment penalty under section 271(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act, the operative date is the date on which the return containing withheld or inaccurate particulars is filed. Penalty liability is therefore governed by the law in force on that date, not by the law applicable at the start of the relevant assessment year. The Karnataka High Court distinguished cases involving special transitional provisions and held that, absent contrary statutory direction, an amended penalty provision applies to returns filed after the amendment came into force. The amended provision was applied to the returns in question because they were filed after 1 April 1968.

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Issues: Whether the amended penalty provision in section 271(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, effective from 1 April 1968, applied to concealment reflected in returns filed after that date even though the assessment years were earlier.

Analysis: The concealment attracting penalty under section 271(1)(c) was held to occur on the date the return containing withheld or inaccurate particulars was filed. Penalty is therefore governed by the law in force on that date, not by the law prevailing at the commencement of the relevant assessment year. The court distinguished authorities dealing with special transition provisions and held that, absent a contrary statutory direction, the later amended penalty regime applies when the return is filed after the amendment came into force.

Conclusion: The amended section 271(1)(c) applied to both cases because the returns were filed after 1 April 1968, and the assessee's contention that the unamended law for the earlier assessment years governed the penalty was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: For concealment penalty under section 271(1)(c), the operative date is the date of filing of the return in which the concealment occurs, and the quantum of penalty is controlled by the law in force on that date unless a specific statutory provision directs otherwise.

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