Penalty for failure to revise advance tax estimate requires deliberate default and cannot stand where income could not be accurately anticipated.

Penalty under section 273(c) for failure to file a revised estimate under section 212(3A) was held not exigible because the assessee's commission income depended on later realisation of sale proceeds and settlement by principals, making the correct income difficult to anticipate when advance tax was estimated. The materials did not show deliberate avoidance of compliance, and the penal provision could not be sustained without such default. The key principle stated was that a penalty for non-filing of a revised estimate cannot be upheld where the assessee demonstrates a genuine inability to forecast income and no intentional evasion is established.

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Issues: Whether penalty under section 273(c) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 was leviable for failure to file a revised estimate under section 212(3A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in the facts of the case.

Analysis: The assessee's commission income depended upon later realisation of sale proceeds and settlement by the principals, so the exact amount could not be confidently anticipated when advance tax was estimated. The explanation showed substantial difficulty in revising the estimate, and the materials did not establish a deliberate attempt to avoid compliance. Since section 273(c) is penal in nature, penalty could not be sustained unless deliberate default was shown.

Conclusion: Penalty under section 273(c) was not exigible and the assessee succeeded on the issue.

Ratio Decidendi: A penalty for failure to file a revised estimate of advance tax cannot be upheld where the assessee shows a genuine inability to anticipate the correct income and no deliberate avoidance is established.

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