https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=775372 The HC held that criminal prosecution under Sections 276C(1)(i), 276D, and 277(1) of the IT Act could not be sustained based solely on unauthenticated documents received under DTAA, which lacked evidentiary value and were not independently verified. The ITAT had set aside the assessment orders due to absence of incriminating material, and no prima facie case of concealment or tax evasion was established. The mere presence of the petitioner's name in such documents did not shift the burden of proof. Additionally, non-signing of the Consent Waiver Form was already penalized under Section 271 and could not justify criminal proceedings. The court emphasized that prosecution requires sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case, which was absent here, and thus quashed the criminal complaints. en-us Mon, 21 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0530 Thu, 24 Jul 2025 08:40:14 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=775372 The HC held that criminal prosecution under Sections 276C(1)(i), 276D, and 277(1) of the IT Act could not be sustained based solely on unauthenticated documents received under DTAA, which lacked evidentiary value and were not independently verified. The ITAT had set aside the assessment orders due to absence of incriminating material, and no prima facie case of concealment or tax evasion was established. The mere presence of the petitioner's name in such documents did not shift the burden of proof. Additionally, non-signing of the Consent Waiver Form was already penalized under Section 271 and could not justify criminal proceedings. The court emphasized that prosecution requires sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case, which was absent here, and thus quashed the criminal complaints. Case-Laws Income Tax Mon, 21 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=775372