https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=35871 Penalty for late filing of a return under section 271(1)(a) arises only where the default is without reasonable cause. The revenue must first make out, at least prima facie, that the assessee failed to file the return within time without such cause; only then does the burden shift to the assessee to explain the delay. Mere late filing, or mere falsity of the assessee's explanation, is not enough by itself to establish the default. On the stated facts, no evidence beyond the delay was produced to show absence of reasonable cause, so the penalty could not be sustained. en-us Fri, 13 Feb 1981 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:52:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=35871 Penalty for late filing of a return under section 271(1)(a) arises only where the default is without reasonable cause. The revenue must first make out, at least prima facie, that the assessee failed to file the return within time without such cause; only then does the burden shift to the assessee to explain the delay. Mere late filing, or mere falsity of the assessee's explanation, is not enough by itself to establish the default. On the stated facts, no evidence beyond the delay was produced to show absence of reasonable cause, so the penalty could not be sustained. Case-Laws Income Tax Fri, 13 Feb 1981 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=35871