https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=39745 The court held that filing a voluntary return under section 139(4) does not absolve the assessee from penalty under section 271(1)(a) for failing to file the return within the specified time. The court clarified that penal interest is for delay, while the penalty is for the failure to file on time. Additionally, the Income-tax Officer does not have discretion to levy a penalty at a rate lower than 2% of the tax per month of default, as the word "may" in the statute does not grant such discretion. The court ruled against the assessee on both issues and ordered the assessee to bear the costs of the reference. en-us Fri, 19 Feb 1971 00:00:00 +0530 Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:44:08 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=39745 The court held that filing a voluntary return under section 139(4) does not absolve the assessee from penalty under section 271(1)(a) for failing to file the return within the specified time. The court clarified that penal interest is for delay, while the penalty is for the failure to file on time. Additionally, the Income-tax Officer does not have discretion to levy a penalty at a rate lower than 2% of the tax per month of default, as the word "may" in the statute does not grant such discretion. The court ruled against the assessee on both issues and ordered the assessee to bear the costs of the reference. Case-Laws Income Tax Fri, 19 Feb 1971 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=39745