TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1984 (3) TMI 133
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.... therefore, initiated penalty proceedings under s. 18(1)(A) of the WT Act and issued show cause notices to which there was no response. Accordingly he levied penalties of Rs. 8,150, Rs. 9,882, Rs. 8,423 and Rs. 2,586 respectively. All these penalties have been deleted on appeals filed by the assessee. The Revenue has come up in second appeals before us. 3. We have heard the representatives of the parties at length, in all these appeals. Though the dispute in these appeals is common, the facts in the various years and the ground for deletion of the penalties by the AAC are slightly different. In relation to the asst. yr. 1969-70 the AAC's discussion shows that the assessee's case was that the return of wealth was normally due on 31st July....
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....rence with the orders of the AAC. At this stage, departmental appeal No. 421 (Cal) of 1982 is accordingly dismissed. 4. Coming to the year 1970-71 the assessee's contention before the AAC was that there was no default on his part. In normal course return was due on 31st July, 1970. The assessee had some agricultural lands whose value had to be determined for being included in the total wealth. For this reason the Board had granted a general extension of time for filing the returns of wealth in the case of persons owing agricultural lands or other assets related there to vide Board's Circular No. 78 (F. No. 378/11/72-WT) dt. 17th Feb., 1972. The return was actually filed by the assessee on 15th Jan., 1971 long before the extended during d....
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....ned in the letters alleged to have been filed before the WTO on 26th March, 1981 copies of which were produced before us by the representative of the assessee himself. The plea was that the delay was caused due to some family disputes after the death of the assessee's mother and the returns were filed before the issue of notice under s. 14(2) voluntarily and in good faith making the true disclosure of the net wealth. Now neither the prolonged illness of the mother nor the death of the assessee's father are taken as reasonable cause. The most important fact to note in this behalf is that for the asst. yr. 1969-70 the assessee's own case is that he had filed his returns on the 31st Oct., 1969. Well, if the assessee could file his return of we....
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.... succeed. However, the assessee may succeed on another plea that he could not file the returns in time due to his personal circumstances earlier and on 31st Oct., 1969 when he filed the return for the year 1969-70 it was due to oversight that he did not file the returns for the earlier years. But this is not the plea which was either taken before the AAC or has been considered by him. Since the plea emerges from the documents already on record and the WTO does not appear to have considered the pleas of the assessee taken in this behalf properly, we are of the opinion that it will be fair that this belated plea is considered notwithstanding of the delay in its being put forward. Accordingly, we direct that for these two years the AAC shall d....