RAJENDRA PRASAD Vs. COMMISSIONER OF WEALTH TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this writ petition, the petitioner has impugned the order of the Wealth-tax Commissioner dated July 19, 1983, whereby he rejected the application of the petitioner seeking waiver under Section 18B(1)(i) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957,

(2.) PENALTY was imposed against the petitioner as returns for the assessment years 1964-65 to 1968-69 were not filed in time. Thereupon, the petitioner made an application under Section 18B of the Act seeking waiver on the ground that returns for all the aforesaid years had been filed by him voluntarily and in good faith before receiving notice under sub-section (2) of Section 14 of the Act from the authorities and that the wealth disclosed by him was fully accepted by the authorities. The contention of the petitioner that he had satisfied all the requirements of Section 18B(1)(a) of the Wealth tax Act was not accepted by the Commissioner and he refused to grant waiver. The reasoning given by the Commissioner was that income-tax was being regularly paid right from the assessment year 1970-71 and that being so, the petitioner could not contend ignorance of the provisions of the Wealth-tax Act on the part of his guardian. This reasoning is misconceived, inasmuch as the Commissioner himself observed that the income-tax returns had been filed on July 18, 1974. The income-tax returns having been filed in July 1974, the question of having paid income-tax regularly from 1970-71 could not arise.