‘Prosecution can’t be launched until evaded tax is known based on I-T search disclosures’
The Hindu
There is no presumption under law that every unaccounted transaction would lead to imposition of tax, and therefore, no prosecution can be launched on the ground of “attempt to evade such tax, penalty
There is no presumption under law that every unaccounted transaction would lead to imposition of tax, and therefore, no prosecution can be launched on the ground of “attempt to evade such tax, penalty and interest”, until and unless it is determined that the unaccounted transactions unearthed during search were liable for payment of tax, penalty or interest, the High Court of Karnataka has said. Justice John Michael Cunha made these observations in his April 5 order dismissing revision petition filed by the Income Tax Department challenging the February 28, 2019, order of a Special Court in discharging former Minister D.K. Shivakumar from income tax evasion case. “These allegations, even if accepted as true, do not prima facie constitute offences under section 276C(1) of the Income Tax Act,” the court observed while ruling that “the very prosecution launched against the respondent [Mr. Shivakumar] being premature and illegal, cannot be allowed to continue.”More Related News