CBDT notifies Special Courts for Trial of Offences under Income Tax Act 1961 in Dehradun [Read Notification]

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified Special Courts for Trial of Offences under the Income Tax Act, 1961 in Dehradun.

The Board has issued a notification on Friday wherein it was said that “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 280A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) and section 84 of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 (22 of 2015), the Central Government, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court of Uttarakhand, hereby designates the following Court in the State of Uttarakhand, as mentioned in column (2) of the Table below, as Special Court for the area specified in column (3) of the said Table for the purposes of section 280A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and section 84 of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.”

The sections dealing with offences and prosecution proceedings are included in Chapter XXII of the Income-tax Act, 1961 i.e. S. 275A to S. 280D of the Act. However, the provisions contained in said Chapter XXII of the Act do not inter se deal with the procedures regulating the prosecution itself, which is governed by the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.

The provisions of the said Code are to be followed relating to all offences under the Income Tax Act unless the contrary is specially provided for by the Act.

The Finance Act, 2012, has inserted S. 280A to 280D, wherein the Central Government has been given the power to constitute Special Courts in consultation with the Chief Justices of the respective jurisdictional High Courts w.e.f. 1-7-2012.

Normally, the Magistrate Court in whose territorial jurisdiction an offence is committed tries the offence. For direct tax cases, the offence is said to commit at the place where a false return of income is submitted, even though it is completely possible that the return has been prepared elsewhere or that accounts have been fabricated at some other place.

A First Class Magistrate or a Metropolitan Magistrate should try the prosecution case under the direct taxes. If a Special Economic Offences Court with specified jurisdiction is notified, the complaint is to be filed before the respective court.

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