(1.) IN all these petitions, the petitioners applied to the CIT under S. 273A of the IT Act, 1961 for waiver of or reduction in penalty and interest amount which had become payable by the petitioners because of late filing of the returns and late payment of tax. As the point which arises for consideration is the same, they are all disposed of together by this common judgment.
(2.) THE learned counsel for the petitioners drew our attention to the fact that in all these cases the CIT came to the conclusion that the conditions laid down in S. 273A having been satisfied, penalties deserved to be waived. But while considering the question of waiver of interest, he held that as tax due was not paid prior to the making of disclosures, interest did not deserve to be waived. That type of order was passed in cases from which Special Civil Applications Nos. 5401, 5403, 5404, 5405 and 5407 of 1983 arise. In Special Civil Applications Nos. 5402 and 5406 of 1983 and 3269 of 1983, the CIT thought it fit to reduce the interest amount by 50 per cent only on the ground that the petitioners had not filed income tax returns for three to four years continuously. What is submitted by the learned counsel is that conditions for the waiver of penalty and interest being the same, the reasoning of the CIT for holding that such conditions were satisfied in case of waiver of penalty but not in case of waiver of interest must be regarded as inconsistent and to that extent the orders passed by him should be regarded as orders passed without proper application of mind. Sec. 273A, as it then stood, read as under :
(3.) ORDINARILY , we would have quashed the orders and sent the matters back to the CIT for the purpose of passing fresh orders after proper application of mind, but these are 12 to 13 years old matters and, therefore, considering the fact that so many years have elapsed and the amounts involved are not substantial, we think it proper to put an end to these litigations by modifying the impugned orders passed by the CIT to the extent that the waiver of interest in Special Civil Applications Nos. 5401, 5403, 5404, 5405 and 5407 of 1983 shall be 50% and in Special Civil Applications Nos. 5402, 5406 of 1983 and 3269 of 1984 shall be 75%.