SEVENTH SCHEDULE.—(Application of Income Tax Provisions to Excess Profits Tax and the National Defence Contribution.) (Hansard, 3 June 1943)

§ Sir G. Schuster

I beg to move, in page 29, line 13, at the end, to insert: 140.—(1) A person who has delivered a return or particulars which he has been required under the enactments relating to excess profits tax or the national defence contribution to deliver or furnish and discovers any omission or wrong statement therein, may deliver an additional return or additional particulars rectifying the same, and shall not thereafter be liable to any proceeding by reason of his omission or wrong statement. (2) A person who has not delivered such a return or such particulars within the time limited may deliver it or them at any time before proceedings for recovery of a penalty, incurred in respect of such non-delivery, have been commented, and thereafter no such proceedings shall be taken. The Seventh Schedule makes applicable to Excess Profits Tax and National Defence Contribution the penalties for 503 failure to deliver true and correct Income Tax returns which were imposed by Section 107 of the Income Tax Act, 1918. That Act also contained a relieving Section, Section 140, which empowers the taxpayer to amend his return on discovery by him of any omission or wrong statement, and it goes on to enact that the taxpayer shall not thereafter be liable to any proceedings by reason of his omission or wrong statement. It is obviously right and proper that the penalties imposed under Section 107 with regard to false Income Tax returns should be imposed for false returns for Excess Profits Tax and National Defence Contribution, but I think that my right hon. Friend will be ready to admit that as a matter of equity the corresponding relieving provisions of Section 140 should also be applied.