TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2004 (6) TMI 276
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....income of Rs. 10 lakhs each for the years under consideration in the form of cash vide declarations dt.30th Dec, 1997accompanied by their affidavits. Since both the assessees did not pay the tax as required by the scheme, the AO issued notices under s. 148 to both the assesses by registered post for the years under consideration. In response to the same, the assessees filed returns disclosing nil income for the years under consideration except for asst. yr. 1990-91 for which no return was filed as according to the assessee, no notice under s. 148 was received by him. In the course of assessment proceedings, their statements were recorded in which it was stated by them that tax was not paid as they had withdrawn their declarations. In suppor....
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....was, therefore, within his rights to frame a belief for the purposes of invoking the provisions of s. 148 and also making use of this relevant information for the purposes of completing the assessment proceedings and determining the taxable income based upon this information which was relevant as well as material. Under the circumstances, the action of the AO in determining the income at Rs. 10 lakhs is upheld." Aggrieved by the same, the assessees are in appeal before the Tribunal. 4. The learned counsel for the assessee has reiterated the stand taken before the CIT(A) and also referred to some decisions for the proposition that if there is no material on record then proceedings under s. 147/148 are void ab initio The entire emphasis....
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..... 68 provides that income declared shall not be included in the total income of the assessee under the IT Act. Sec. 71 provides that nothing contained in the declaration shall be admissible as evidence against the declarant for the purpose of proceedings relating to imposition of penalty or for the purpose of prosecution under IT Act/WT Act or FERA or Companies Act. Sec. 72 provides that all particulars of declaration shall remain confidential and no Court or any other authority shall be entitled to require any public servant to produce before it such declaration. Sec. 72(2) further provides that no public servant shall disclose any particulars contained in such declaration except to any officer employed in the execution of IT Act/WT Act or....
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....y are bound to comply strictly with the conditions under which the benefit is granted : there is no scope for the application of any equitable consideration when the statutory provisions of the scheme are stated in such plain language. 7. The above discussion reveals that assessee is liable to face the consequences if tax has not been paid as per the scheme. Sec. 67(2) is by way of disincentive to the declarant who has failed to pay the tax due under the scheme. The words "under this scheme" at the end in s. 67(2) are important. By use of these words, the legislature has provided the deeming provisions for the purpose of this scheme and as it did not intend to give any benefit under the scheme to the defaulter declarant. Such deeming pro....
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....he view taken by us is also fortified by the provisions of s. 72 of the Finance Act, 1997, which reads as under: "Sec. 72 : Secrecy of Declaration-(1) All particulars contained in a declaration made under sub-s. (1) of s. 64 shall be treated as confidential and, notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, no Court or any other authority shall be entitled to require any public servant or the declarant to produce before it any such information or any part thereof or to give any evidence before it, in respect thereof. (2) No public servant shall disclose any particulars contained in any such declaration except to any officer employed in the execution of the IT Act or the WT Act, or to any officer appointed ....