Wp/542/2006 Of M/S. Bermaco Industries Ltd v. Commissioner Of Income Tax City-X, Mumbai

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAYO.O.C.J. WRIT PETITION NO.542 OF 2006 M/s.Bermaco Industries Ltd.v/s.Commissioner of Income Tax, Mumbai City Xand others. .. Petitioner .. Respondents Mr.Pramodkumar Parida for the petitioner. Mr.Shiv Motriya for the respondent Nos.1 and 2. CORAM : R.M. LODHA &J.P.DEVADHAR, JJ. DATED : 6TH MARCH, 2006. P.C. Heard Mr.Pramodkumar Parida, the learned counsel for thepetitioner. 2.The application made by the petitioner for waiver of interest undersection 220(2A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 came to be dismissed by theCommissioner of Income Tax by holding that the assessee did not fulfil theconditions for such waiver. 3.It transpires from the impugned order that for the assessment year1999-2000 despite filing the return of income amounting to Rs. 22,05,682/-,the assessee did not pay the statutory self-assessment tax. The learnedcounsel for the petitioner could not dispute this factual position. Hesubmitted that an opportunity ought to have been granted by the Commissioner of Income Tax before rejecting the application made by thepetitioner for waiver of interest. He invited our attention to thecommunication dated 22[nd] November, 2005 sent by the petitioner to theconcerned Commissioner of Income Tax. 4.From the said communication it appears that the petitioner did notspecifically deny the receipt of the notice dated 19.10.2005. What theystated in the communication was that they did not seem to have receivedletter dated 19.10.2005. If they have not received the notice, it must havebeen said so in specific terms. We are afraid, the submission of the learnedcounsel for the petitioner that the petitioner was not afforded theopportunity of being heard, in the circumstances, cannot be accepted. Ifdespite service of notice dated 19.10.2005, the petitioner did not appearbefore the Commissioner, they did so on their own peril. 5. In any case, another important aspect is that for the assessmentyear 1999-2000, the assessee filed return of income amounting toRs.22,05,682/- and despite that it failed to pay the statutory self-assessment tax. In the backdrop of this fact, if the Commissioner ofIncome Tax declined to accept the petitioner's prayer for waiver of interestunder section 220(2A), the order cannot be faulted. 6.The writ petition has no merit and is dismissed in limine. (R.M.LODHA, J.) (J.P.DEVADHAR, J.)