1975 (11) TMI 64 - AT - Income Tax

Court overturns penalty for late tax return, emphasizes good faith in submissions.

The court held that the penalty imposed under section 17(3) of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958 on a beverages dealer for delayed submission of ... - Issues:Imposition of penalty under section 17(3) of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958 based on the submission of revised returns by the dealer.Analysis:The appellant, a beverages dealer, submitted revised returns for the year 1972, stating that certain charges were incorrectly included in the original returns. The assessing authority imposed a penalty of Rs. 1,500 under section 17(3) of the Act due to the delayed submission of revised returns. The first appeal partially allowed the appeal, setting aside the enhancement in turnover but maintaining the penalty under section 17(3).The appellant contended that penalty under section 17(3) could only be imposed for returns submitted under section 17(2) and not for revised returns. The appellant argued that the submission of revised returns demonstrated good faith and should not warrant a penalty.The assessing authority imposed the penalty under section 17(3) as section 43 penalty could not be applied based on a previous court decision. However, the court noted that the circumstances differed from the case used as precedent. In this case, the dealer did not include certain charges in the turnover believing they were not part of the sale price, showing no malafide intent. The court cited a previous case to support that no penalty should be imposed if the dealer genuinely believed certain turnover was not taxable.The submission of revised returns by the dealer after the initial plea was rejected further demonstrated good faith. The court concluded that the penalty under section 17(3) was unwarranted and allowed the appeal, setting aside the penalty.In conclusion, the court held that the penalty under section 17(3) was unjustified in this case due to the dealer's good faith actions and genuine belief regarding the taxable turnover, distinguishing it from previous cases.