Geejai Constructions vs Asstt. Commissioner of Income Tax and Others

C.N. Ramachandran Nair, J.—The petitioner is challenging Exhibit Pll order whereunder the Commissioner rejected petitioner''s application filed u/s 273A of the Income Tax Act for waiver of interest u/s 139(8) and Section 217 and penalty levied u/s 271(1)(a) and Section 273(1)(b) of the Act.

I heard counsel appearing for the petitioner and standing counsel appearing for the respondents. I have also gone through Exhibit Pll order. Section 273A provides in Sub-section (1) that waiver of interest and penalty can be granted only if the assessee has co-operated in the enquiry and made full and true disclosure of the income. Another important condition for waiver is payment of interest or penalty as the case may be or making of satisfactory arrangement for payment. It is found in Exhibit PII that petitioner had not made any payment of interest or penalty or made any arrangement for payment of the said sum. Even though counsel submitted that petitioner has made arrangement for payment, there is nothing to indicate as to what was the arrangement made for payment. The demand is raised for the assessment years 1983-84 to 1986-87 and the impugned order was passed twelve years after the last year for which demand was raised. The petitioner could have made the application after making payment or after making arrangement for payment or could have made the payment before disposal of the application. However, petitioner has no case that petitioner has complied with any of these conditions. Standing counsel submitted in court that besides not making payment and not making any arrangement for payment, petitioner has even made claim for Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme for payment which, though granted to the petitioner, was not availed by the petitioner. Time petitioner himself produced proceedings under the Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme vide Exhibit P12 and it is settled position through various decisions of several. Courts including that of this Court in P.A. Mohammed Abdul Khader and Co. Vs. Commissioner of Income Tax and Another, that the assessee can claim waiver of interest only if conditions are satisfied. Since petitioner admittedly did not satisfy any of the conditions and the conditions are not satisfied even when the OP was filed, there is no justification to interfere with the impugned order. The OP is devoid of any merit and is dismissed.