COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX Vs. VENKATESWARA TIMBER DEPOT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This income-tax case arises out of the penalty proceedings. The CIT, Visakhapatnam, filed this income-tax case under s. 256(2) of the IT Act, 1961 (for short "the Act"), praying this Court to direct the Tribunal to state the case and refer the following as questions of law :

(2.) The respondent herein is the assessee. It is a firm having five partners carrying on business in timber and bamboo. There were certain cash credits in the books of account amounting to Rs. 1,21,000 and interest of Rs. 8,131. The ITO added a sum of Rs. 2,11,246 as the income. But, on appeal the amount was reduced to Rs. 1,74,350. It was further reduced to Rs. 1,50,000 by the Tribunal on further appeal. The assessing authority initiated penalty proceedings and after enquiry concluded that the credits represented the assessee's concealed income and levied the penalty of Rs. 99,430. That order of the ITO was set aside by the CIT(A) on appeal. On further appeal to the Tribunal, it sustained two credit amounts of Rs. 25,000 each and interest of Rs. 1,350. Having been aggrieved by the said order, the CIT filed an application under s. 256(1) of the Act to refer the above said questions as questions of law. That application having been rejected, the present application is preferred by the CIT.

(3.) Mr. S. R. Ashok, learned standing counsel for the Department, vehemently contended that once the addition had been upheld in the assessment proceedings, in the penalty proceedings the Tribunal was not justified in limiting the addition to only two items of Rs. 25,000 each. The short question that arises for consideration is : Whether the order of the Tribunal suffers from any illegality ?