COMMISSIONER OF WEALTH TAX Vs. SHYAM LAL BHATIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Tribunal, Allahabad, has referred the following question of law under Section 27(1) of the WT Act, 1957 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), for opinion to this Court :

(2.) Briefly stated, the facts giving rise to the present petition are as follows: The reference relates to the asst. yrs. 1974-75 to 1976-77. The respondent assessee is an individual He filed his WT returns for the assessment years in question after the due date. Penalty proceeding under Section 18(l)(a) of the Act was initiated and the WTO imposed penalty for late filing of return. The respondent filed an application under Section 18B of the Act before the CWT, Kanpur, seeking waiver/reduction of the amount of penalty in respect of all the three years, which was dismissed by the CWT, vide order dt. 29th June, 1981. Even when the petition for waiver under Section 18B of the Act was pending before the CWT, the respondent had preferred separate appeals against the penalty order before the AAC. The AAC had partly allowed the appeals. The Revenue feeling aggrieved, preferred separate appeals before the Tribunal. The Tribunal had dismissed the appeal filed by the Revenue. Before the Tribunal, a plea was raised that the AAC had no right to entertain the appeal as the order of penalty has got merged with the order passed by the CWT under Section 18B of the Act. This argument had been repelled by the Tribunal with the following observations :

(3.) We have heard Sri A.N. Mahajan, the learned standing counsel for the Revenue, and Sri Vikram Gulati, learned counsel appearing for the respondent.