Shantilal Rawji vs M.C. Nair, Iv Income-Tax Officer, E ... on 1 April, 1958
4. The contention of the Department is that looking to the provision of section 18A(6) there was a statutory obligation upon the Income-tax Officer to charge penal interest and there was a clear error of law on the face of the record when the Income-tax Officer failed to carry out his statutory obligation and it was open to the Income-tax Officer under section 35 to rectify that error. We do not agree with Mr. Palkhivala that the error contemplated by section 35 must be an error of fact. It is true that in Sidhramappa v. Commissioner of Income-tax we were dealing with an error of fact but there is nothing i the language of section 35 to suggest that the error contemplated by that section must necessarily be an error of fact. It can be an error of law. If all the facts are on the record and no further elucidation or ascertainment is necessary and if on those facts it is clear that the Income-tax Officer has rectified under section 35. Mr. Palkhivala's contention is that inasmuch as the Income-tax Officer has not deletion his contention is that inasmuch as the Income-tax Officer has not dealt in his assessment order with this aspect of the matter at all it is not dealt in his assessment order with this aspect of the matter at all it is not a case of rectification it is rather a case of revision or review. We are unable to accept that argument. An error of law may consist of deciding a particular point contrary to the clear provision of a statute. It maybe equally due to ignorance or overlooking of the clear provisions of the statute. It is difficult to understand why if the Income-tax Officer acts contrary to law and says so in his assessment order that error could be rectified under section 35; but if he overlooks of clear provision of the law and fails to give effect to that provision of the law, it should not be considered as a mistake and it cannot be rectified under section 35. An error of law is an error of law, whether the error consists in the failure to carry out a statutory duty imposed upon the officer or in acting in a manner which is contrary to the mandate of the Legislature; and in this case if the statute required the Income-tax Officer to impose a penal interest upon the assessee and that obligation is clear from the record than the failure to discharge that obligation would be an error which would be susceptible of being correct and rectified under section 35.