TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1984 (8) TMI 1
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....al balance, income-tax adjustment statement and a copy of the capital account. The return was accepted. On August 20 and 21,1981, a search was conducted at the residence of the petitioner under s. 132 of the Act which resulted in the seizure of several documents and account books which revealed suppression of purchase of chicory seeds, the existence of several bank accounts, fixed deposits, investments in the names of his wife and daughters and several bank accounts not disclosed in the statements filed along with the return. The trading and profit and loss account for the assessment year 1977-78 filed along with the return showed that he had purchased chicory seeds of the value of Rs. 65,797 as against Rs. 2,15,729 as per the seized accoun....
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....er s. 276C and s. 277 of the Act and under ss. 193 and 196 of the Indian Penal Code instituted by the Department while the reassessment proceedings under the Act are pending are liable to be quashed on the ground that they were not maintainable. The material parts of ss. 276C and 277 of the Act read as follows, " 276C. Wilful attempt to evade tax, etc.-(1) If a person wilfully attempts in any manner whatsoever to evade any tax, penalty or interest chargeable or imposable under this Act, he shall, without prejudice to any penalty that may be imposable on him under any other provision of this Act, be punishable. (i) in a case where the amount sought to be evaded, exceeds one hundred thousand rupees, with rigorous imprisonment for a term whic....
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....n Penal Code read thus : "193. Punishment for false evidence. Whoever intentionally gives false evidence in any stage of a judicial proceeding, or fabricates false evidence for the purpose of being, used in any stage of a judicial proceeding, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine; and whoever intentionally gives or fabricates false evidence in any other case, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation.-... " 196. Using evidence known to be false.-Whoever corruptly uses or attempts to use as true or genuine any evidence which he knows to be....
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....ct subsequently in respect of the relevant assessment proceedings but that decision is no authority for the proposition that no proceedings can be initiated at all under s. 276C and s. 277 as long as some proceeding under the Act in which there is a chance of success of the assessee is pending. A mere expectation of success in some proceeding in appeal or reference under the Act cannot come in the way of the institution of the criminal proceedings under s. 276C and s. 277 of the Act. In the criminal case all the ingredients of the offence in question have to be established in order to secure the conviction of the accused. The criminal court no doubt has to give due regard to the result of any proceeding under the Act having a bearing on the....
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....ontention of the assessee was that the prosecution was opposed to the principles of natural justice as he would be deprived of the benefit of a finding which was likely to be recorded in his favour in the penalty proceedings. It was urged on behalf of the Department that the penalty proceedings under s. 271(1)(c) had no direct bearing on the maintainability of a prosecution launched under Chapter XXII of the Act. The High Court took the view which according to us is an erroneous one that the provisions of s. 279(1A) of the Act established the necessity for the completion of the penalty proceedings before the institution of the prosecution and, therefore, as long as the penalty proceedings were pending, criminal proceedings could not be inst....