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2015 (3) TMI 764 - HC - Income TaxRefund on the basis of forged TDS certificates - criminal prosecution against lawyer of main assessee submitting returns on behalf of assessee - Held that:- The complainant ITO had not filed any complaint against the main assessee and only arrayed the respondent Advocate as an accused, who was stated to have submitted the income tax returns of relevant years on his behalf, for the reasons best known to him (ITO). That means, the respondent-accused had only submitted the income tax return along with all the indicated documents on behalf of main assessee. In other words, all the TDS certificates, which were purported to have been issued by the Northern Railway, were supplied by the main assessee to his Advocate. It was the main assessee, who had procured the documents from the concerned authorities and claimed the refund. Not only that, in case, the main assessee had claimed the refund on the basis of forged TDS certificates, then, the Income Tax Authorities were competent and well within their jurisdiction to reject his claim of refund and even to impose penalty under the relevant provisions of The Income Tax Act. Thereafter, the aggrieved party had a right to file the statutory appeal in this relevant connection. Be that as it may, therefore, the respondent-accused, who was an Advocate, had just submitted the income tax return on behalf of main assessee, cannot possibly be and indeed could not legally be held liable for criminal prosecution for procuring the documents by main assessee in order to attract the penal provisions of offences in question, as contrary urged on behalf of complainant-ITO. Thus the respondent was acquitted. Also see Income tax Officer Versus Sudesh Sharma [2015 (1) TMI 975 - PUNJAB & HARYANA HIGH COURT]- Appeal against lawyer dismissed.
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