AHAMAD K Vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition styled to be one under S.256 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for short, "the Act", and S.151 of the Code of Civil Procedure and the prayer therein is:

(2.) The judgment in which the sentence sought to be deleted occurred was pronounced in expressing our opinion on the question referred for our opinion by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Cochin Bench which was in these terms:-

(3.) For the year of assessment 1963-64, the Income Tax Officer felt that the assessee was liable to be penalised under S.271(1)(c) of the Act and since he also felt that the minimum penalty leviable exceeded Rs. 1,000/- he referred the proceedings to the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Calicut Range. That officer took the view that apart from stating that the explanation to S.271(1)(c) was introduced only with effect from 1-4-1964 and no offence can be created with retrospective effect, the assessee has not let in any evidence to prove that the difference between the returned income and 80% of the income assessed did not arise due to any of the defaults contemplated in the Explanation to S.271(1)(c) of the Act. In this view of the matter, he imposed a penalty of Rs. 6,000/-. The assessee appealed to the Appellate Tribunal and the Tribunal was of the opinion that