COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX Vs. SYNTHETICS LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE applicant (Commissioner of Income-tax, Bhopal) has filed this application under Section 256(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (for short the "Act"), seeking a direction to the Tribunal to state the case and refer the proposed question, as extracted below, on rejection of the application registered as R, A. No. 273/Ind. of 1992 for the assessment year 1979-80, arising out of the order dated July 17, 1992, passed by the Tribunal in I.T.A. No. 47/Ind. of 1987 for our consideration and opinion :

(2.) BRIEFLY stated, the facts of the case are that the Assessing Officer levied penalty of Rs. 18,00,000 under Section 273(2)(aa) of the Act for the assessment year 1979-80, which was cancelled in appeal by the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals). The Revenue then filed an appeal before the Tribunal. The Tribunal found as a fact that the Department failed to establish that the estimate of advance tax filed by the assessee was untrue to the knowledge and belief of the assessee. The difference was found to be mainly on account of a disputed claim under Section 80J of the Act for the earlier assessment years 1974-75 to 1978-79 aggregating to Rs. 1,01,76,469. The first appellate authority on an appreciation of facts found that various adjustments made by the assessee against its income for the instant assessment year were bona fide and the claim for set off of the business losses of the earlier years and the deductions claimed under Section 80J were also bona fide. The Tribunal, therefore, dismissed the appeal. Dissatisfied, the applicant filed an application under Section 256(1) of the Act which was rejected. Thereafter, the applicant filed this application under Section 256(2) of the Act.

(3.) THE Tribunal concurred with the conclusion reached by the first appellate authority.