https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=38973 The court concluded that "reasonable cause" is indeed an ingredient of the offence under Section 271(1)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. It determined that the burden of proof initially lies with the department to show prima facie that the assessee failed to furnish the return without reasonable cause. Once this burden is met, the assessee must establish reasonable cause on a balance of probabilities. The court emphasized that the mere falsity of the explanation provided by the assessee is not sufficient for the department to establish its case for imposing a penalty. The case will proceed before the Division Bench for further proceedings. en-us Mon, 03 May 1976 00:00:00 +0530 Sat, 10 Apr 2010 16:44:59 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=38973 The court concluded that "reasonable cause" is indeed an ingredient of the offence under Section 271(1)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. It determined that the burden of proof initially lies with the department to show prima facie that the assessee failed to furnish the return without reasonable cause. Once this burden is met, the assessee must establish reasonable cause on a balance of probabilities. The court emphasized that the mere falsity of the explanation provided by the assessee is not sufficient for the department to establish its case for imposing a penalty. The case will proceed before the Division Bench for further proceedings. Case-Laws Income Tax Mon, 03 May 1976 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=38973