2005 (8) TMI 104

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....oner is an assessee under the Wealth-tax Act and for the assessment year 1992-93, she was required to furnish return by July 31, 1992 for the year ending on March 31, 1992. The petitioner has submitted that on account of the inadvertent lapse of her accountant, the said return could not be filed by the due date but the amount of tax along with interest thereon as required under section 17B of the Wealth-tax Act, was deposited on March 30, 1994. To substantiate the said contention, the petitioner has submitted exhibit P/3 indicating the calculations and the amount of tax and interest worked out by her. Learned senior counsel for the petitioner submits that although a sum of Rs. 62,613 has been deposited along with interest and returns und....

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..... Learned senior standing counsel has controverted the stand of the counsel for the petitioner. He has submitted that on a plain language of section 17B of the Wealth-tax Act, it is manifest that interest is to be charged in such cases of lapse/default up to the date of furnishing of the return as is clear from clause (a) of section 17B(1) and, therefore, the Revenue has, in no way, erred in charging the amount of interest The Commissioner of Wealth-tax has accordingly, rightly dismissed the revision vide his order (annexure P/7). A short controversy that arises for determination in this petition is as to whether on payment of the tax and interest on a date anterior to the date of filing of the return under the Wealth-tax Act, the int....

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....ips. At the relevant time section 139(8) of the Income-tax Act provided as under: "Where the return under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) or sub-section (4) for an assessment year is furnished after the 30th day of September of the assessment year, or is not furnished, then whether or not the Income-tax Officer has extended the date for furnishing the return under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), the assessee shall be liable to pay simple interest at nine per cent. per annum, reckoned from the 1st day of October of the assessment year to the date of the furnishing of the return or, where no return has been furnished, the date of completion of the assessment under section 144, on the amount of the tax payable on the total income as ....