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2024 (3) TMI 252 - HC - Income TaxOffences punishable u/s 276C(1) & 277 - jewellery found during search - adjudication proceedings and criminal prosecution are inter-dependend or not - petitioner submitted that the petitioner approached this Court who remanded the matter back to the Assessing Officer to carryout the reconciling of the quantum of jewellery of the petitioner to determine that the jewellery found during search in the year 2011, was part of the jewellery declared by the petitioner and thereafter, the entire penalty was deleted by allowing the reconciliation of the quantum of jewellery - HELD THAT:- It is seen that the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax on suo muto re-opened the proceedings by an order dated 23.02.2021, on the basis that no reconciliation was carried out. Though the said proceeding was challenged by the petitioner before this Court in [2023 (11) TMI 239 - MADRAS HIGH COURT] it was rejected by this Court. That apart, the petitioner already filed petition to discharge and the same was also dismissed by the trial Court. Now the re-assessment proceedings are pending with the AO. Therefore, the proceedings cannot be said that it attained finality. Hence, there is no exoneration of the petitioner from all the charges. Further the quantum of jewellery found during the search was not brought in the the earlier returns filed by the petitioner. Therefore, the reconciliation of jewellery has not attained finality, in view of the pendency of the proceeding u/s 263 of the Income Tax Act. The adjudication proceedings and the criminal prosecution are independent to each other and the pendency of any adjudication proceeding is not bar to proceed with the prosecution. Therefore, this Court finds no ground to quash the proceeding and the present petition cannot be sustained and liable to be dismissed.
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