AJAY MEDICAL AGENCY Vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN these two writ petitions, the petitioner is aggrieved by an order of the Commissioner of INcome-tax rejecting the claim of the petitioner for the benefit of Section 273A with reference to the assessment years 1976-77, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1981-82 and 1982-83. The facts pertaining to those assessment years are almost the same. It was found by the INcome-tax Officer that the returns filed by the assessee for those relevant years did not contain the correct particulars and he opined that there was a deliberate concealment of income by the asses-see to an extent of Rs. 1,22,843.77. He issued a notice on August 10, 1983, calling upon the assessee to give an explanation before August 20, 1983. Thereafter, the assessee filed a revised return on March 13, 1984, admitting the factum of the particulars being incorrect, but gave an explanation for such incorrect particulars. According to him, the discrepancies in the particulars occurred on account of certain valid reasons and that he had no control over the same. It is not necessary for us to go into those reasons and decide whether they are genuine or not.

(2.) FOR the purpose of this case, it is sufficient to take note of the fact that the revised returns were filed after the Income-tax Officer detected the factum of incorrect particulars in the returns filed by the assessee within the meaning of Section 271(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act. Under that Clause, if the assessee had concealed the particulars of the income or furnished inaccurate particulars of such income, it is open to the Income-tax Officer to levy in addition to any tax payable by him, a sum which shall not be less than but which shall not exceed twice, the amount of tax sought to be evaded by reason of the concealment of the particulars of the income or the furnishing of inaccurate particulars of such income.