TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2004 (1) TMI 24
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.... assessee and her husband had kept certain deposits in the Andhra Bank at Ahmednagar. On being advised by their consultant that the said deposits should be disclosed in their assessment, the assessee and her husband transferred the said amount on January 31, 1990, to their regular account with an intention to disclose the same in the respective assessment years. The assessment year relevant for the purpose herein is the assessment year 1988-89. It is the case of the assessee that on February 22, 1990, the assessee's husband approached the Income-tax Office at Ahmednagar of his own free will and had made a voluntary disclosure before the Assessing Officer (third respondent) and offered for taxation the amounts which were deposited by him an....
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....d sought to levy interest under sections 139(8), 215 and 217 of the Income-tax Act and also levied penalty under sections 271(1)(a) and 271(1)(c) and 273 of the Income-tax Act. The petitioner thereupon approached the Commissioner of Income-tax, Nasik, with a formal application under section 273A of the Income-tax Act seeking waiver of the aforesaid penalties and interest. It was stated that the assessee had fulfilled all the conditions set out under section 273A of the Income-tax Act and since the amounts were disclosed voluntarily, the interest and penalty levied be waived. By the impugned order dated January 17,1994, the Commissioner of Income-tax following his decision in the assessee's husband's case declined to consider the applicatio....
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....vant assessment year. It was submitted that even the summons under section 131 of the Income-tax Act was served upon the husband of the assessee across the table when the husband of the assessee had visited the office of the Income-tax Department for the purpose of disclosing the aforesaid income. He submitted that since all the conditions set out under section 273A of the Income-tax Act were fulfilled, the Commissioner of Income-tax ought to have exercised his discretion to reduce or waive the penalty and interest levied upon the petitioner. Mr. Jetly, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents, on the other hand supported the order of the Commissioner of Income-tax passed under section 273A of the Income-tax Act. He submitted....
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....sioner of Income-tax has declined to exercise powers under section 273A of the Income-tax Act only on the ground that there is no voluntary disclosure. Thus, there is no dispute that the assessee has complied with all other conditions set out under section 273A of the Income-tax Act, save and except the conditions regarding voluntary disclosure. According to the Revenue, the disclosure made by the assessee cannot be said to be voluntarily, because, the Assessing Officer had already initiated investigation and by a letter dated February 26, 1990, the Assessing Officer had intimated the assessee regarding additions to be made in the relevant assessment year. Although the revised return for the assessment year 1988-89 was filed by the assessee....
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.... the premises and made enquiries about the assessee's source of funds, it would not lead to the conclusion that such visit and the enquiry by itself amounted to compulsion that made the assessee to file revised return due to fear of detection. In the present case, there were no incriminating documents in the possession of the Assessing Officer when the disclosure was made on behalf of the assessee. The fact that the Assessing Officer could have found out the undisclosed income of the assessee and in that event the assessee would have been liable to pay interest and penalty, is no ground to hold that the disclosure was not voluntary. Under section 273A of the Income-tax Act, apart from other conditions what is required to be seen is whether ....