Pendency of penalty.

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....vised to ensure that penalty proceedings were not initiated in a routine manner and the pendency was reduced to the minimum. It was emphasised that it is essential to have a practical approach in such matters. The Board regret to note that the number of penalty proceedings awaiting disposal continues to increase. 2. Before starting a penalty proceeding, the Income-tax Officer should make an enqui....

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....64/77-IT(Inv), dated 23rd January, 1978, printed below, made under section 119(2) (a) of the Income-tax Act directs the Income-tax Officers not to initiate any penalty proceeding for an offence under clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 271 or under section 273 in respect of any assessment year in a case where the maximum penalty imposable under the relevant clause does not excee....

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....enalty cases. 4. No penalty can be imposed unless the assessee has been heard or has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard. The public Accounts Committee have observed that this mandatory provision of law was disregarded in a few cases resulting in loss of considerable revenue. The instances noted by the PAC arose because the penalty proceedings were kept pending till the very end of....

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....have to be kept pending till decision of the appeal against the assessment as provided in section 275, the penalty proceedings should ordinarily be completed soon after the assessment. In actual practice, the Board consider that in the vast majority of cases, it should be possible to complete penalty proceedings within six months of the completion of the relevant assessments. Both in the interests....