https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=754876 The HC quashed prosecution proceedings under sections 276C, 277, 278B and 278E against petitioners for wilful tax evasion. The court held that prosecution was launched prematurely and in contravention of CBDT Circular No. 24 of 2008, which requires penalty confirmation by ITAT before prosecution. Since ITAT had deleted the penalty on which prosecution was based, and the order attained finality with no appeal filed, the prosecution could not continue. The court emphasized that penalty and prosecution run hand in hand, and when penalty is deleted, prosecution must fail, citing SC precedent that departmental exoneration precludes criminal prosecution. en-us Wed, 26 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 01 Jul 2024 16:56:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=754876 The HC quashed prosecution proceedings under sections 276C, 277, 278B and 278E against petitioners for wilful tax evasion. The court held that prosecution was launched prematurely and in contravention of CBDT Circular No. 24 of 2008, which requires penalty confirmation by ITAT before prosecution. Since ITAT had deleted the penalty on which prosecution was based, and the order attained finality with no appeal filed, the prosecution could not continue. The court emphasized that penalty and prosecution run hand in hand, and when penalty is deleted, prosecution must fail, citing SC precedent that departmental exoneration precludes criminal prosecution. Case-Laws Income Tax Wed, 26 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=754876