NEW DELHI: In a bid to curb the black money menace in the country, the Income Tax (IT) Department on Friday reported that it has substantially increased criminal prosecution proceedings initiated in a large number of cases of tax offenders and evaders.
During FY 2017-18 (up to the end of November, 2017), the Department filed prosecution complaints for various offences in 2225 cases compared to 784 for the corresponding period in the immediately preceding year, marking an increase of 184 percent, according to a release issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
The number of complaints compounded by the Department during the current FY (upto the end of November, 2017) stands at 1052 as against 575 in the corresponding period of the immediately preceding year, registering a rise of 83 percent.
Prosecutions have been initiated for various offences including willful attempt to evade tax or payment of any tax; willful failure in filing returns of income; false statement in verification and failure to deposit the tax deducted/collected at source or inordinate delay in doing so, among other defaults.
Due to the decisive and focused action taken by the Department against tax evaders, the number of defaulters convicted by the courts has also registered a sharp increase during the current fiscal. 48 persons were convicted for various offences during the current year (upto the end of November, 2017) as compared to 13 convictions for the corresponding period in the immediately preceding year, marking an increase of 269 percent.
A few illustrative cases are as follows:
A Dehradun Court convicted one defaulter for holding undisclosed foreign bank account and sentenced him to two years of imprisonment for willful attempt to evade tax and to two years for false statement in verification along with monetary penalty for each default respectively.
The Court of CJM, Jalandhar convicted a cloth trader with two years rigorous imprisonment for trying to cheat the Department by fabricating affidavits and gift deeds, in connivance with his advocate and witness, with the motive of evading tax. The Court, while awarding the sentence to the trader, also simultaneously awarded one year's imprisonment to the advocate notarising the forged affidavit and also to the witness for aiding and abetting the serious offence.
In Bengaluru, the MD of a company engaged in infrastructure projects was found guilty of non-deposit of TDS of over Rs. 60 lakh (within the prescribed time), and was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of three months along with imposition of fine. Similarly, a Mohali resident was held guilty of non-deposit of TDS within prescribed time and sentenced to one year jail along with fine.
In another case of Hyderabad, the Director of an infrastructure company was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of six months and fine for wilful attempt to evade tax. She was simultaneously sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for six months alongwith fine for false statement in verification.
“The Income Tax Department is committed to carry forward the drive against tax evasion and action against tax evaders will continue in all earnest in the remaining part of the current Financial Year,” the release noted