Budget to be presented on 16th March FM issues Advisory to CESTAT to ensure that orders are issued by Benches on conclusion of arguments and in complicated matters orders should be issued within 30 days Madras High Court stays levy of service tax on lawyers economic growth slows to 6.9 per cent Sunil Kumar appointed as Chief Secretary of Chattisgarh Amarchand Mangaldas to open offices in Chennai Ahmedabad & Pune US closes its embassy in Syria Sudha Sharma appointed as Member of CBDT Rupee hits a high of 48.73 against Dollar Laxman Das is Officiating Chairman of CBDT Tariff Value for import of gold is 556 & for silver 1067 & for Brass Scrap 4078 & for poppy seeds 2205-Customs Non-Tariff Notification No. 10 Fused Silica is classifiable under Tariff Item 32074000-Customs Circular No.3 Additional Commisssioner of Income Tax HA Siddiqui sentenced to 4 years imprisonment for accepting bribe of Rs 1 Lakh by CBI Court in Delhi HC upholds levy of service tax on booking of flats-The explanation which was inserted by the Finance Act of 2010 clearly brings within the fold of taxable service a construction service provided by the builder to a buyer where there is an intended sale between the parties whether before, during or after construction Authority for Advance Ruling rules super concentrates shall be classified as products of the chemical industry under heading 3824 90 90 of Customs Tariff Anti dumping duty imposed on import of Morpholine from China European Union & USA Anti dumping duty imposed on import of Geogrid/Geostrips/ Geostraps made of polyester or Glass fiber in all its forms from Refund of Anti-Dumping Duty (Paid in Excess of Actual Margin of Dumping) Rules, 2012 notified-Customs Non-Tariff Notification No.5 Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Amendment Rules, 2012-Customs Non-Tariff Notification No.6 Safeguard duty at the rate of 10% ad valorem notified on import of 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Anti-dumping duty on imports of Cellophane Transparent Film , falling under Chapter 39 , originating in, or exported from, China-Customs TariffNotification No.5 Anti-dumping duty onimports of Saccharin, falling under Chapters 29, 30, 33 and 38 ,originating in, or exported from, China-Customs Tariff Notification No.7 Special Bench of ITAT rules the appellant is not entitled to set off carry forward business loss against the long term capital gain arising on sale of land used for the purpose business ITAT rules Long Term and Short Term gains / losses on sale of equity shares under Portfolio Management Scheme is business income and not Capital Gains HC rules the opinion of the AO may have been legally erroneous but this cannot be a ground for initiation of re-assessment proceedings Anti-dumping duty on ‘Caustic Soda’, originating in, or exported from, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Japan, USA & France-Customs Tariff Notification No.1 Cost Accountants can issue Certificates for the purpose of refund 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In absence of finding, penalty proceedings without jurisdiction: HC Full Bench
AIT News Network
NEW DELHI. 10th December 2008. Larger Bench of High Court deciding a bunch of Appeals vide a significant ruling AIT-2008-448-HC has ruled that power to impose penalty under Section 271 of the Act depends upon the satisfaction of the Income Tax Officer in the course of the proceedings under the Act. It cannot be exercised if he is not satisfied and has not recorded his satisfaction about the existence of the conditions specified in clauses (a), (b) and (c) before the proceedings are concluded. It is true that mere absence of the words “I am satisfied” may not be fatal but such a satisfaction must be spelt out from the order of the Assessing Authority as to the concealment of income or deliberately furnishing inaccurate particulars. In the absence of a clear finding as to the concealment of income or deliberately furnishing inaccurate particulars, the initiation of penalty proceedings will be without jurisdiction
In all these cases, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has either deleted or affirmed the deletion of penalty levied upon the assessee under Section 271(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Tribunal has, while doing so, relied upon the decision of the Division Bench of High Court in CIT v. Ram Commercial Enterprises Ltd. and held that the authority initiating the penalty proceedings had not recorded its satisfaction regarding concealment of income or furnishing of inaccurate particulars thereof by the assessee. The Revenue assailed the correctness of the said orders in these appeals. According to the Revenue, penalty proceedings initiated by the competent authority should be deemed to be valid so long as the satisfaction of the authority was discernible from the order made by it. The fact that the authority had not used the words “I am satisfied that the assessee has concealed his income or furnished inaccurate particulars thereof”, would be of no consequence. The true test is whether a reading of the order demonstrates application of mind by the authority to the question of concealment and whether satisfaction about such concealment or furnishing of inaccurate particulars is discernible from the order. In the light of these submissions, the Division Bench admitted the appeals for determination of the following substantial question of law:
“Whether satisfaction of the officer initiating the proceedings under Section 271 of the Income Tax Act can be said to have been recorded even in cases where satisfaction is not recorded in specific terms but is otherwise discernible from the order passed by the authority”
Keeping in view the decision of High Court in CIT v. Ram Commercial Enterprises Ltd. and other cases on the subject, the Division Bench felt that it would be more appropriate if the question is authoritatively determined by a Full Bench of High Court and accordingly the matter was referred to the Full Bench.
(Click here for full text of Ruling AIT-2008-448-HC)
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