Sant Lal And Ors. Vs Income Tax Settlement Commission And Others (Punjab and Haryana High Court)
Punjab and Haryana High Court held that interest under section 234B and 234C of the Income Tax Act cannot be waived as depositing advance tax has nothing to do with seizure of the books of accounts.
Facts- Present writ petition has been preferred by the petitioners, assailing the order passed by the Income Tax Settlement Commission, to the extent that the Commission has ordered to charge the interest @ 50% under Section 234-A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (for short, ‘the Act’), and also directed for the interest under Section 234-B of the Act for the assessment year 1989-90, and similarly, it has also imposed interest under Section 234-C, with respect to the five applicants before it.
Conclusion- Income Tax Settlement Commission accepted the version of the petitioners that the returns for the Assessment Year 1989-90 could not been filed in time, and were delayed on account of the fact that the seized papers were not available with them, and were lying with the Department. The Settlement Commission has also noticed that the letters and requests were made by the applicants/petitioners to the Department and looking into the said circumstances, interest had been reduced. Thus, held that we accept the present writ petition, and waive the interest charged, in terms of Section 234-A of the Act.
