SHIV CHAND DALMIA Vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AGGRIEVED against the order of the Commissioner of Income-tax, Coimbatore, the respondent herein, the petitioners have filed the above four writ petitions on various grounds. One Shiv Chand Dalmia has filed W. P. No. 4419 of 1989, for the assessment year 1983-84 and W. P. No. 4416 of 1989 for the assessment year 1984-85. One Shiv Gopal Dalmia has filed W. P. No. 4417 of 1989 for the assessment year 1985-84 and W. P. No. 4418 of 1989 for the assessment year 1984-85. Since the respondent-Commissioner of Income-tax, Coimbatore, has passed identical orders confirming the penalty imposed by the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax, Coimbatore, all the above four writ petitions may be disposed of by the following common order.

(2.) FOR convenience I shall refer to the case of the petitioner in W. P. No. 4416 of 1989. According to the petitioner, he is a partner in a registered firm, Lakshmi Narayan Gowri Shankar. It is stated that for the purpose of filing his income-tax and wealth-tax returns for the accounting year ending on March 31, 1983, corresponding to the assessment year 1983-84, he forwarded the various documents and details regarding his other income along with the receipts for payment of Life Insurance Corporation premium, compulsory deposit, advance tax, etc., together with the relevant return forms duly signed to the auditor of the firm, A. R. Jaganriathan, Chartered Accountant, Coimbatore, under cover of his letter dated December 3, 1983, with a request that the returns may be filed early. It is also stated that he had sought for time for filing the return till December 51, 1983, by filing necessary applications in FORm No. 6. It is further stated that his assessment for the assessment year 1983-84 was duly completed by the Income-tax Officer by his order dated October 16, 1985. He also received a notice for levy of penalty under Section 271(1)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, on the ground that there was a delay in the furnishing of his return of income for the said year. On his instruction, the chartered accountant replied to the said penalty notice by his letter dated December 20, 1985, and pointed out that in view of the sudden increase in the brokerage amounts received by the firm in the last quarter of the accounting year, the accounts of the firm could not be finalised in time and accordingly the firm after obtaining time for furnishing the return, filed its return only on January 21, 1984, and thereafter the chartered accountant appears to have prepared his return of income and filed the same. The Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax (Assessment) Range II, Coimbatore, overruled the various submissions made on his behalf for the non-levy of penalty and by his order dated January 14, 1988, levied penalty of Rs. 9,554 for the delay in the filing of the return for the period from February, 1984 to June, 1985, holding that there was no reasonable cause for not filing the return up to January 21, 1984, on which date the firm had filed its return of income, there was no reasonable cause for the delay subsequent thereto. Similar order was passed for the next assessment year 1984-85.

(3.) IN support of the contention, learned counsel for the petitioner has filed a chart containing details regarding returns due, extension of time granted, paper sent to the chartered accountant, further reminder, date of filing of the firm's return as well as date of filing of the assessee's return, etc. Since those particulars are relevant for the disposal of the writ petitions, I am here extracting the same (page 6A). <FRM>JUDGEMENT_809_ITR237_1999Html1.htm</FRM>