INCOME TAX
INSTRUCTION NO. 1920/1994
Dated: October 6, 1994
Section(s) Referred: 273A
Statute: Income - Tax Act, 1961
The question whether the benefit of sub-section(1) of Section 273A of the IT Act 1961 is available in a case for more than one assessment year, only when the disclosures for all the assessment years is made simultaneously on the same date and not when the disclosures for different years is made on different dates, was considered by the Board in consultation with the Ministry of Law and accordingly instructions No. 1823 dated 1-8-89 and No. 1841 dated 26-3-90 were issued by the Board. It was stated that the disclosure made for different assessment years at different times cannot be clubbed together and disposed of by a single order.
2. Recently various High Courts have held that the CIT has power to waive penalty and interest in respect of all the assessment years covered by the application and that it would be incorrect to say that where returns for different assessment years were filed on different dates, the power under sub-section (1) of Section 273A was available only for one assessment year.
3. The SLPs filed by the department against Gujarat High Court Judgement dated 27-8-92 in SCA No. 4692 of 1992 and against Karnataka High Court Judgement dated 27-7-92 in W.P.No. 1392 of 1992 in the case of V. Manasram Sukhdev have also been dismissed by the Supreme Court.
4. The Board has therefore re-examined the directions issued vide Instructions referred above. After careful consideration of the issue and the judgments of various High Courts it has been decided that where a petition u/s 273A is made by an assessee for different assessment years at one point of time, the Commissioner may decide the question of waiver/reduction of interest/penalty for all the assessment years involved, irrespective of the dates of filing of the returns for those assessment years. For the same assessment year/s supplementary petitions can also be filed altering the quantum of income disclosed in the original petition. However where petition/s u/s 273A covering assessment years other than the assessment year/s covered in the first petition are filed, only the first petition may be considered and if an order u/s 273A(1) is passed in favour of the assessee, the other petition/s made subsequently should be rejected under section 273A(3) of the Income-tax Act.
5. These instructions will be applicable to all the pending petition u/s 273A as well as petitions filed hereafter.
6. In view of these revised instructions Board's earlier instructions No. 1823 and 1841 may be treated as modified to the above extent.
7. These instructions may be brought to the notice of all concerned.