COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX Vs. BIHAR STATE ROAD TRANSPORT CORPORATION LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A consolidated statement of the case has been submitted by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Patna Bench "B", Patna (hereinafter referred to "as the Tribunal "), under Section 256(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter refererd to as "the Act"), referring the following common question of law for the opinion of this court :

(2.) THE relevant facts of the case may be culled from the statement of the case and the other orders on record. THE assessee, a State Government undertaking, filed returns disclosing loss in both the assessment years 1963-64 and 1964-65 which are the assessment years involved in the present case. For the assessment year 1963-64, the assessment was made on a total income of Rs. 15,47,450. It was found that in the assessment year, the revenue account of the assessee showed an income of Rs. 26,39,382. THE Income-tax Officer found that the assessee had not complied with the provisions of Section 212(3) of the Act and no advance tax was paid as required under that section. On completion of the assessment, the Income-tax Officer proceeded under Section 273 of the Act for default in complying with the provisions of Section 212(3} of the Act. As there was no reply to the show-cause notice, the Income-tax Officer held that the default was without any reasonable cause and he, therefore, imposed a penalty of Rs. 94,892.

(3.) NOW, let us see whether cancellation of penalty by the Tribunal for the assessment years 1963-64 and 1964-65 was justified. Under Section 212(3) of the Act, an assessee who has not been previously assessed by way of regular assessment under this Act, shall, in each financial year, before the date on which the last instalment of advance tax is due in his case under Sub-section (1) of Section 211, if his current income is likely to exceed the amount specified in Sub-section (2) of Section 208, send to the Income-tax Officer an estimate of the current income and the advance tax payable by him on the current income calculated in the manner laid down in Section 209, and shall pay such amount of advance tax as accords with his estimate on such of the dates specified in Section 211 as have not expired, by instalments which may be revised according to Sub-section (2).