TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2000 (12) TMI 25
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....essee, or wholly against him when a relief sought by the assessee under section 273B of the Income-tax Act, 1961, is in respect of a penalty levied under section 272A, sub-section (2), clause (c) of the Act. Under section 272A of the Act, a person, who, inter alia, fails to furnish the returns or statements mentioned in that section will be liable to pay by way of penalty at a rate of, as that se....
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....ure to file the returns. For the period of the delay in filing the return, penalty was imposed by the Income-tax Officer in the sum of Rs.1,96,290. On a petition being filed by the petitioner before the Commissioner, the penalty was reduced by 50 per cent. The Commissioner's jurisdiction was invoked under section 264 of the Act. The assessment years were 1986-87, 1987-88 and 1988-89. The Commi....
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....ner has acted contrary to law in directing the assessee to pay penalty in an amount, which was one-half of the amount that had been levied by the Income-tax Officer. Counsel referred to section 273B of the Act, the marginal heading of which reads "penalty not to be imposed in certain cases". It, inter alia, provides that no penalty shall be imposable for any failure, inter alia, to comply with sec....
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....s where the cause shown is such as to explain a part of the delay, or the cause shown is only to mitigate the gravity of the non-compliance, such a cause cannot be extrapolated and treated as being a good cause for the whole of the period of the delay in its entirety. All or nothing, the proposition canvassed by the petitioner would be detrimental to assessees themselves if the choice placed befor....