https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=37938 Penalty for default in payment of tax under section 221(1) is discretionary and must be exercised judicially on all relevant circumstances, not imposed automatically on mere proof of default. The settled principle is that penalty is ordinarily unwarranted unless the conduct shows deliberate defiance of law, contumacious behaviour, conscious disregard of obligation, or absence of reasonable cause. On the facts, the Tribunal accepted that the assessee had bona fide and sufficient reasons for non-payment, including the disputed nature of the tax liability and pleaded financial difficulty. That factual finding supported deletion of the penalty, and no referable question of law arose. en-us Tue, 21 Mar 1978 00:00:00 +0530 Fri, 02 Apr 2010 12:28:24 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=37938 Penalty for default in payment of tax under section 221(1) is discretionary and must be exercised judicially on all relevant circumstances, not imposed automatically on mere proof of default. The settled principle is that penalty is ordinarily unwarranted unless the conduct shows deliberate defiance of law, contumacious behaviour, conscious disregard of obligation, or absence of reasonable cause. On the facts, the Tribunal accepted that the assessee had bona fide and sufficient reasons for non-payment, including the disputed nature of the tax liability and pleaded financial difficulty. That factual finding supported deletion of the penalty, and no referable question of law arose. Case-Laws Income Tax Tue, 21 Mar 1978 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=37938