1991 (9) TMI 58

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....nt of delay in the filing of a return, where does lie the onus, to show that it was With or without reasonable cause, upon the assessee or the Revenue ? Herein lies the controversy raised. This matter arises under the Wealth-tax Act, 1957, in the context of the provisions of section 18(1)(a) thereof. The due date for the filing of the return for the assessment year 1969-70 was June 30, 1969. It....

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.... reads as under : "Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in law in holding that penalty is leviable under section 18(1)(a) of the Wealth-tax Act ?" The provisions of section 18(1)(a) of the Wealth-tax Act read as under : "(1) If the Wealth-tax Officer, Appellate Assistant Commissioner, Commissioner (Appeals), Commissioner or Appellate Tribunal ....

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.... this behalf that it cannot be said that initially the onus lay upon the Revenue to show that the failure to file the return in time was without "reasonable cause". It was held that it is only when the assessee shows cause that an opinion can be formed regarding its reasonableness or otherwise. Liability for payment of penalty, it was further observed, arises immediately upon the failure of the as....