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GST - Payment of pre-deposit through Form GST DRC-03 instead of the prescribed Form APL-01 - Petitioner attributes it to technical glitches - Respondent is the proper authority to decide the question of fact: HC2nd Session of India-Nigeria Joint Trade Committee held in AbujaGST - Since SCN is bereft of any details and suffers from infirmities that go to the root of the cause, SCN is quashed and set aside: HC1717 candidates to contest elections in phase 4 of Lok Sabha ElectionsGST - Once Appellate Authority comes to the conclusion that SCN was issued by an officer who was not competent; reply was also considered by an incompetent authority and the Competent Authority had not applied its independent mind, Appellate Authority could not have assumed original jurisdiction and proceeded further with the matter: HC7th India-Indonesia Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting held in New DelhiGST - Neither the Show Cause Notice nor the order spell out the reasons for retrospective cancellation of registration, therefore, the same cannot be sustained: HCMining sector registers record production in FY 2023-24GST - If the proper officer was of the view that the reply is unclear and unsatisfactory, he could have sought further details by providing such opportunity - Having failed to do so, order cannot be sustained - Matter remanded: HCAnother quake of 6.0 magnitude rocks Philippines; No damage reported so farI-T - Initial burden of proof rested on assessee to substantiate his claim of having incurred expenditure on improvement of property: ITATTrade ban: Israel hits back against Turkey with counter-measuresI-T - Agricultural income can be treated by ITO as undisclosed income in absence of any substantial / corroborative material to prove same: ITATCanada arrests three persons in alleged killing of Sikh separatistI-T - Income from sale of property has to be classified & characterised only in manner of computation as per section 45(2): ITATCus - When there is nothing on record to show that appellant had connived with other three persons to import AA batteries under the guise of declaring goods as Calcium Carbonate, penalty imposed on appellant are set aside: HCCongress fields Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli and Kishori Lal Sharma from AmethiCus - The penalty imposed on assessee was set aside by Tribunal against which revenue is in appeal is far below the threshold limit fixed under Notification issued by CBDT, thus on the ground of monetary policy, revenue cannot proceed with this appeal: HCGST -Since both the SCNs and orders pertain to same tax period raising identical demand by two different officers of same jurisdiction, proceedings on SCNs are clubbed and shall be re-adjudicated by one proper officer: HCFormer Jharkhand HC Chief Justice, Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra appointed as President of GST TribunalSale of building constructed on leasehold land - GST implicationI-T - If assessee is not charging VAT paid on purchase of goods & services to its P&L account i.e., not claiming it as expenditure, there is no requirement to treat refund of such VAT as income: ITATBengal Governor restricts entry of State FM and local police into Raj BhawanI-T - Interest received u/s 28 of Land Acquisition Act 1894 awarded by Court is capital receipt being integral part of enhanced compensation and is exempt u/s 10(37): ITATCops flatten camps of protesting students at Columbia UnivI-T - No additions are permitted on account of bogus purchases, if evidence submitted on purchase going into export and further details provided of sellers remaining uncontroverted: ITATTurkey stops all trades with Israel over GazaI-T- Provisions of Section 56(2)(vii)(a) cannot be invoked, where a necessary condition of the money received without consideration by assessee, has not been fulfilled: ITATGirl students advised by Pak college to keep away from political eventsI-T- As per settled position in law, cooperative housing society can claim deduction u/s 80P, if interest is earned on deposit of own funds in nationalised banks: ITATApple reports lower revenue despite good start of the yearI-T- Since difference in valuation is minor, considering specific exclusion provision benefit is granted to assessee : ITATHome-grown tech of thermal camera transferred to IndustryI-T - Presumption u/s 292C would apply only to person proceeded u/s 153A and not for assessee u/s 153C: ITATECI asks parties to cease registering voters for beneficiary-oriented schemes under guise of surveys
 
FERA - Charge against bankers - wrong credit into bank a/c alleged with consent, connivance of and attributable to negligence on part of bankers - Consent and connivance later dropped from SCN - But same allegations made in prosecution - Prosecution quashed : SC

By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JAN 08, 2015: THE Enforcement Directorate issued Show Cause Notice dated 21.01.1994 under Section 51 of FERA , 1973 against ANZ Grindlays Bank, the Account Holder and three bank officials for having credited Non-convertible Rupee Funds of Rs.1 ,15,00,000/- (Rupees One Crore and Fifteen Lakhs) during the period August to December, 1991 received from Moscow, into the Non-Resident (External) Account of Dr. P.K . Ramakrishnan in contravention of Section 6(4), 6(5) read with Section 49 of FERA , alleging that it had taken place with the consent, connivance of and attributable to the negligence on the part of the said Officials. However, by letter dated 10.7.2001 addressed to the appellant, the ED ordered that charges relating to 'consent' and 'connivance' shall stand deleted from the Show Cause Notice dated 21.01.1994.

The adjudicating authority passed the final Order dated 14.5.2010 holding that the Officials of the Bank have not consented or connived in the performance of the official duties and they were negligent. The High Court by the impugned order held that the prosecution of the accused persons shall be confined to the negligence on their part and not for they having consented or connived in the commission of the said offence. The said order is under challenge before the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court observed,

The crediting of Non-Convertible Rupee Funds in the Non-Resident (External) Account of Dr. P.K.Ramakrishnan happened during the period August to December, 1991. Three officials of ANZ Grindlays Bank were involved in it and Show Cause Notice was issued by Respondent No.1 on 21.1.1994 to the Bank as well as the Officials for contravention of Section 6(4), 6(5) read with Section 49 of FERA, alleging that it had taken place with the consent, connivance of and attributable to the negligence on the part of the Officials. It is true that the respondent by letter dated 10.7.2001 ordered that the charges relating to 'consent' and 'connivance' shall stand deleted from the Show Cause Notice. Though FEMA came into force on 1.6.2000, Sunset clause under Section 49 of the said Act provided for filing of complaints under the FERA, 1973 till 31.5.2002. Taking advantage of it, the Respondent No.1 issued Opportunity Notice to all the three officials on 12.5.2002 and lodged the complaint on 29.5.2002. The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, New Delhi, on the same day took cognizance of the complaint for the offence under Section 56 of FERA and issued summons.

In spite of having dropped the allegations of 'consent' and 'connivance', the respondent in their complaint levelled allegations of all the three components, namely, consent, connivance and negligence. The contention of the appellant that the cognizance was taken on irrelevant consideration, is to be countenanced. There was suppression and also material omission in non-mentioning of reply sent by the appellant to the Opportunity Notice, in the complaint. Further, to substantiate the averments in the complaint, not even a single original document was enclosed. It is not known as to, on what material the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate applied his mind, while taking cognizance of the statutory offence. Though the allegation of negligence can be independently looked into, considering the standard of proof in criminal prosecution, we are of the view that, in the present case, the continuance of prosecution against the appellant is not tenable in law and the proceedings are liable to be quashed.

The appeal is allowed and the impugned order is set aside and the proceedings in Criminal Complaint No.704/2002, on the file of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, New Delhi, insofar as the appellant is concerned are quashed.

(See 2015-TIOL-02-SC-FEMA)


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