9911796707
TMI Blog1987 (5) TMI 24X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... laint (annexure P-3) filed by the Income-tax Officer, Central Circle-II, Ludhiana, on July 5, 1984. This complaint, as per the stand of the complainant (respondent), was filed at the instance, authorisation and under the orders of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Central), Ludhiana, as envisaged by section 279 of the Act. The crux of the complaint is that for the assessment year 1980-81, a return was filed by the company bearing false verification and containing false statement of accounts as stocks worth Rs. 2,87,840 were available with the assessee in excess of what it had disclosed to the Department and the source of these stocks was also not disclosed. It was so done with a view to evade the payment of tax, penalty and the interest charg ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... company moved an application under section 245C of the Act before the Commission for the settlement of its tax liability and all related matters in respect of the assessment years 1969-70, 1970-71 and 1978-79 to 1982-83. This application included a prayer under section 245H of the Act for the grant of immunity from prosecution under the Act or the Indian Penal Code or under any other Central Act for the time being in force. A copy of this application is annexure P-1. The Commission forwarded a copy of it to the Commissioner of Income-tax (Central), Ludhiana (respondent), for his report as envisaged by section 245D(1) of the Act and on receipt of the same with no objection, vide order dated August 30, 1983 (annexure P-2), allowed the applica ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ds, the Commission is well entitled to or is rather obliged to go into the question whether the petitioners had filed a false return with a false verification to evade tax. Equally not in dispute is the power or the jurisdiction of the Settlement Commission under section 245H of the Act to grant or tender immunity to the petitioners from prosecution for any offence under the Act. In the face of this accepted position and the provisions of section 245F reproduced below, I am of the considered view that the Commissioner of Income-tax could not direct or authorise the filing of the complaint against the petitioners during the course of the pendency of the proceedings before the Settlement Commission. " 245F. (1) In addition to the powers co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l the members of the Settlement Commission are not present at any of its meetings. (Emphasis supplied) In the light of this section, it is patent that the Commission, during the pendency of the proceedings before it, enjoys all the powers which are vested in an income-tax authority under the Act. Sub-section (2) makes it manifest that till the culmination of those proceedings, with the passing of an order under sub-section (4) of section 245D of the Act, it has the exclusive jurisdiction to exercise the powers and perform the functions of an income-tax authority under the Act in relation to that case. Sub-section (4) further makes it clear that the authorities under the Act, including the Commissioner and the Income-tax Officer, may cont ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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