1974 (7) TMI 26

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....ome-tax Act, 1961, at the instance of the Commissioner of Income-tax, in which the following question of law, arising from the order of the Tribunal, has been referred to this court for its opinion : " Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was correct and justified in holding that the penalty order of the Income-tax Officer was illegal ? " We have been take....

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....t 30, 1962, giving due allowance for the two months' extension that was granted for that particular year. The period of default in filing the return is, therefore, a matter of simple calculation, on the basis of facts manifest from the records. There can be no dispute whatsoever that there was a default of over 54 months in filing the return for the assessment year 1962-63. The next question is....

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....tion that falls for determination is what was the basis for calculation of the penalty imposed by the Income-tax Officer. The Tribunal held that since the basis for calculation of the penalty was not recorded explicitly by the Income-tax Officer, the imposition of the penalty itself was bad in law. We should examine the scheme of section 271(1)(a) and clause (i) in order that we may properly appre....

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....ed as in section 271(1)(a)(i), there can be no legal requirement for the Income-tax Officer to indicate what was the basis for his calculation, since a mere reference to the statutory provision and the uncontroverted facts apparent from the records would make the position abundantly clear. We are, therefore, of the opinion that the Income-tax Officer's order imposing the penalty cannot be assailed....