By C. B. Thakar Advocate G. G. Goyal, Janak Vaghani Chartered Accountants
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Sales Tax-Penalty – Concealment- Claim of High Seas Sale Disallowed-Levy of Penalty- Not Justified, section 16(2) of The Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959.
Facts
The assessee while filing the original returns had claimed exemption in respect of certain high- seas sales and the same was disallowed and a penalty was levied u/s. 16(2) of the Act. Against the said order of the assessing authority; the assessee filed an appeal before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner confirmed the order of the assessing authority, against which the assessee filed a further appeal before the Tribunal and the Tribunal while confirming the orders of both the authorities, reduced the penalty to 50 per cent by holding that there is willful nondisclosure u/s. 16(2) by the assessee. The assessee filed a revision petition before the Madras High Court against the impugned order of the Tribunal.
Held
The law is well-settled that once the sale is shown in the bill of lading and an exemption claimed that will not amount to willful non-disclosure by the assessee. It is not even the case of the assessing authority that there was willful non-disclosure u/s. 16(2) of the Act. The act is quasi-criminal in nature and there must be willful nondisclosure on the part of the assessee for the purpose of imposing the penalty. Accordingly, the High Court allowed the petition filed by the assessee.
