Principal CIT Vs. Smt. Ritu Singal (Delhi High Court)
In construing Section 271AAA one must not lose sight of its essential purpose which resulted in its enactment. There is a penalty at the rate of 10% of the undisclosed amount declared, if the conditions in Section 271AAA (2) are not met with. This is quite different from the penal provision under Section 271 (1) (c) of the Act, which directs that if income is concealed or inaccurate returns are filed, which are disallowed by the AO, the penalty shall be ―three times the amount of tax sought to be evaded”. In the case of amounts disclosed during the course of search, the penalty amount is only ten percent of the undisclosed income. Parliament has, therefore, given a different treatment to the latter category. At the same time, if an assessee were to successfully urge the “escape route” so to say, of Section 271AAA (2), all three conditions mentioned in the provision, (as held in Gebilal Kanhailal in respect of pari material provisions) have to necessarily be fulfilled. In the preset case, the assessee, while declaring the “undisclosed income” also stated, that ―the surrender is being made subject to no penal action of Section 271 (1) (c)”.
