Allahabad High Court enhances punishment to 5 years.
A division bench of the Allahabad High Court confirmed punishment of a Chartered Accountant (CA) for presenting forged copies of Challans on behalf of the assessee to the Income Tax department.
While finding the CA guilty for ‘professional Misconduct’, the bench enhanced the punishment to Five years against two years of punishment as suggested by the Disciplinary Committee of ICAI.
ICAI initiated proceedings for ‘professional misconduct’ against the respondent, a Chartered Accountant, on the basis of information received from the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Income tax, Agra that he presented forged copies of challans to partners of Assessees and collected/claimed amounts allegedly paid on behalf of Assessees. The Disciplinary Committee passed an ex-parte order recommending removal of name from the register of the ICAI due to non-corporation of the respondent. Parallel criminal proceedings were pending against the respondent in criminal Court.
Before the High Court, the respondent contended that the present decision of the Disciplinary Committee is liable to be withdrawn since the same was passed ex-parte, without hearing the respondent.
However, the bench comprising Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Justice Kaushal Jayendra Thaker found that the proceedings took about 15 years due to the respondent’s non-co-operation. It was found that he was willfully evading the proceedings due to various reasons, which eventually resulted in taking such a long time to conclude the proceedings.
Approving the recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee, the bench said that “A Chartered Accountant is a person, who holds an office of confidence and not only his client, but even in Department in which Chartered Accountant represents the matter of his client, normally believe that he (Chartered Accountant) is performing his duties honestly. Confidence has been breached by respondent not only with the persons, who engaged him, but it has played fraud on the Department also. He is admittedly a person of having longstanding in the profession, still has shown such a conduct, which can never be expected of a Chartered Accountant. In the circumstances, ICAI has recommended removal of name of respondent from the register of Member for a period of two years. Looking to the conduct of respondent, and the tactics adopted by him in delaying proceedings, stretching it to almost one and half decade, in our view, appropriate punishment would be removal of his name from Membership of the Institute for a period of five years.”
Read the full text of the Judgment below.
