Calcutta High Court
M/S Pricewaterhousecoopers ... vs Commissioner Of Income Tax on 25 June, 2008
Author: Surinder Singh Nijjar
Bench: Surinder Singh Nijjar, Pinaki Chandra Ghose
ITA No. 120 of 2006
IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
Special Jurisdiction (Income-tax)
Original Side
M/S PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS PVT.LIMITED Petitioner
Versus
COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, KOL-I & ORS. Respondents
For Appellant/Petitioner : Dr.D.Pal, Sr. Advocate with Mr. R.N.Mitra, Mr. A.Majumdar and Mrs. Nilanjana Pal (Banerjee), Advocates For Respondent :
BEFORE:
The Hon'ble CHIEF JUSTICE SURINDER SINGH NIJJAR AND The Hon'ble JUSTICE PINAKI CHANDRA GHOSE Date : 25th June, 2008.
THE COURT : After hearing the learned counsel for the appellant, the appeal is admitted and the following substantial questions of law are referred for adjudication.
1) Whether in view of the finding of the Tribunal that failure to offer the provision for gratuity to tax was a case of human error and more so may be a silly mistake and further in view of the finding of the Tribunal that the Assessing Officer had also ignored to point out the same during the regular assessment, the Tribunal was justified in law in sustaining the penalty at the rate of 100% of the tax alleged to be evaded in the absence of any finding that there had 2 been concealment of any income or furnishing of inaccurate particulars of income with an intention to evade tax ?
2) Whether the Tribunal was justified in law in confirming the imposition of penalty under Section 271(1) ( c ) of the Act to the extent of 100% in the absence of any finding that the assessee was guilty of any mens rea or deliberate intention to avoid the payment of tax ?
Let the paper book be filed within eight weeks from date after serving copy of the same on the respondent and the appeal be listed 10 weeks hence.
Xerox certified copy of this order be made available to the parties upon compliance of usual formalities.
( SURINDER SINGH NIJJAR,C.J.) ( PINAKI CHANDRA GHOSE,J.) Rsg.