1973 (4) TMI 29

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....hether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was correct in holding that the penalty should be calculated with reference to the tax found due on the date of the completion of the assessment after deducting, inter alia, taxes paid by the assessee as advance tax and tax as per provisional assessment ? " The assessee did not file his return for the assessment year 1958-59 by November 15, 1958, up to which date the Income-tax Officer had allowed time. The return was filed on February 18, 1959, after about three months of the expiry of that date. After the assessment had been completed on April 1, 1962, the Income-tax Officer initiated penalty proceedings under section 271(1)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and afte....

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....ng given to that word in section 3(35) of the General Clauses Act should be adopted, and the word " month " should be taken to be the English calendar month, and as such the period of default committed by the assessee would be of only two months, inasmuch as a part of November and a part of February in which default occurred was not for the whole calendar month, and had as such to be excluded. As regards the amount of penalty that could be imposed for the default, it was contended that while computing " the tax payable " on which the penalty had to be imposed, the advance tax and the taxes paid as per provisional assessment had to be deducted, and the penalty had to be worked out on the basis of this reduced amount. The Tribunal held that t....

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....st question, section 271(1)(a)(i) of the Act is a penal provision, and in the event of the default contemplated by this section, an assessee becomes liable to payment of penalty at the rate of 2% of the tax for " every month during which the default continued ". The word "month" has not been defined in the Act. The Tribunal has, however, taken this word to mean " a calendar month " by referring to section 3(35) of the General Clauses Act, which defines " a month " as meaning a month reckoned according to the English calendar month. This definition, however, in view of the opening part of section 3 of the General Clauses Act, can be read into a statute provided there is nothing repugnant in the subject or context of the statute. It as such h....