Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Agricultural Income Tax and Sales Tax and Another vs Velimalai Rubber Co. Ltd.

K.S. Paripoornan, J.—The respondents in Original Petition No. 573 of 1989 (Revenue) (see Velimalai Rubber Co. Ltd. Vs. Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Agricultural Income Tax and Sales Tax and Another, ) are the appellants in the appeal. The petitioner in the original petition is the respondent herein. The respondent-company is an assessee under the Kerala Agricultural Income Tax Act. The prayer in the original petition was to quash exhibit P-4 order as confirmed in exhibit P-6. Exhibit P-4 is an order dated March 9, 1988, by which an amount of Rs. 42,700 was imposed as penalty on the assessee u/s 17A(3) of the Act. It was confirmed by the Commissioner of Agricultural Income Tax in exhibit P-6. The learned single judge (see Velimalai Rubber Co. Ltd. Vs. Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Agricultural Income Tax and Sales Tax and Another, ) quashed exhibits P-4 and P-6 and held that Section 17A(3) of the Agricultural Income Tax Act is not attracted in the instant case. The respondents in the original petition have come up in appeal.

The short question that arises for consideration is whether penalty u/s 17A(3) of the Act is attracted for the belated filing of the return. In this case, the return under the Agricultural Income Tax Act was filed after the due date. The question that arises for consideration is whether for filing the return after the due date, penalty u/s 17A(3) of the Act is leviable.

Section 17A(3) of the Act is as follows :

"If any person fails to pay the tax or any part thereof in accordance with the provisions of Sub-section (1), the assessing authority may direct that a sum equal to two per cent. of such tax or part thereof, as the case may be, shall be recovered from him by way of penalty for every month during which the default continues :

Provided that, before levying any such penalty, the person shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard."

The learned single judge held that Section 17A(3) of the Act contemplates levy of penalty for non-payment of admitted tax or for non-payment of part of the admitted tax at the time of filing the return. On a plain reading of the Section 17A(3) of the Act, we concur with the learned single judge (see Velimalai Rubber Co. Ltd. Vs. Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Agricultural Income Tax and Sales Tax and Another, , in the reasoning and conclusion aforesaid. The order levying penalty, exhibit P-4, and the order confirming the same, exhibit P-6, to the extent they uphold the penalty levied u/s 17A(3) of the Act for the belated filing of the return, are unjustified in law. The learned single judge (see Velimalai Rubber Co. Ltd. Vs. Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Agricultural Income Tax and Sales Tax and Another, ) was justified in quashing exhibits P-4 and P-6. We concur with the learned single judge (see Velimalai Rubber Co. Ltd. Vs. Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Agricultural Income Tax and Sales Tax and Another, ), and hold that the appeal is without any merit and it is accordingly dismissed.