Consent fee paid to SEBI without admitting alleged violation by broker couldn’t be held as penalty;

IT: When SEBI accepted consent application (settlement application) without admitting or denying guilt by assessee-stock-broker, resultant consent fee paid to SEBI could not be equated with a "penalty" - The fee was paid for purpose of business, to settle a dispute with SEBI and to be able to conduct business without interruption - Thus, consent fee was allowable as business expenditure under section 37.