Limitation bar under sales tax law applied to false returns and incorrect accounts filed during statutory compliance.

Section 26(2) of the C. P. and Berar Sales Tax Act was held to apply broadly to "any person" and not only to Government servants. False returns filed under Section 10 and incorrect accounts produced under Section 15 were treated as acts done under the Act because they arose from statutory compliance. The argument that such conduct fell outside the Act merely because it could attract penal consequences was rejected. On that basis, prosecution for filing false returns and producing incorrect accounts was governed by Section 26(2) and barred by limitation.

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Issues: Whether the limitation bar in Section 26(2) of the C. P. and Berar Sales Tax Act (C. P. XXI of 1947) applied to a prosecution for filing false returns and producing incorrect accounts under the Act.

Analysis: Section 26(2) used the words "any person" without restriction and was not confined to Government servants. The making of returns was done under Section 10 of the Act and the production of accounts was done under Section 15 of the Act. Since the impugned acts arose from compliance with those statutory provisions, they were acts done under the Act. The view that a false return or incorrect accounts fell outside the Act because they exposed the dealer to penal liability was rejected.

Conclusion: The prosecution was governed by Section 26(2) and was barred by limitation. The issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

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