Tax in India

Any offence under this Act may, either before or after the institution of prosecution, be compounded by the Commissioner on payment, by the person accused of the offence to the Central Government or the State Government, of such compounding amount in such manner as may be prescribed. As per Rule 162 of the CGST Rules,2017 [Chapter-XIX – Offences and Penalties of the CGST Rules,2017], the application of compounding shall be filed in FORM GST-CPD-01.

(ICAI FAQ PUBLICATIONS 06-09-2017 COMPOUNDING OF OFFENCES: FAQ NO. 42)

Such person shall not be liable to any punishment.

(ICAI FAQ PUBLICATIONS 06-09-2017 OFFENCES BY COMPANIES: FAQ NO. 41)

If offences are committed by taxable person being a partnership firm or a LLP or HUF or a trust, the partner or Karta or managing trustee respectively shall deemed to be guilty of offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. Further, If offences are committed by partnership firm or a LLP or HUF or a trust and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any negligence on the part of, the partner or Karta or managing trustee respectively, then such partner or Karta or managing trustee shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(ICAI FAQ PUBLICATIONS 06-09-2017 OFFENCES BY COMPANIES: FAQ NO. 40)

If an offence under the Act has been committed by a Company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any negligence on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officers of the Company, then such director, manager, secretary or other officers of the Company shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(ICAI FAQ PUBLICATIONS 06-09-2017 OFFENCES BY COMPANIES: FAQ NO.  39)

When an offence is committed by a Company, every person who at the time of offence was committed was in charge of or was responsible to the Company for the conduct of business of the Company as well as the Company shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be prosecuted against and punished accordingly.

(ICAI FAQ PUBLICATIONS 06-09-2017 OFFENCES BY COMPANIES: FAQ NO. 38)

A statement made and signed by a person on appearance in response to any summons issued under section 70 during the course of any inquiry or proceedings under this Act shall be relevant, for the purpose of proving, in any prosecution for an offence under this Act, the truth of the facts which it contains-
(a) when the person who made the statement is dead or cannot be found, or is
incapable of giving evidence, or is kept out of the way by the adverse party, or
whose presence cannot be obtained without an amount of delay or expense which, under the circumstances of the case, the Court considers unreasonable; or
(b) when the person who made the statement is examined as a witness in the case before the Court and the Court is of the opinion that, having regard to the
circumstances of the case, the statement should be admitted in evidence in the interests of justice

(ICAI FAQ PUBLICATIONS 06-09-2017 Cognizance of offences, Presumption of culpable mental state and Relevancy of statements under certain circumstances: FAQ NO. 37)

A fact is said to be proved only when the Court believes it to exist beyond reasonable doubt and not merely when its existence is established by a preponderance of probability

(ICAI FAQ PUBLICATIONS 06-09-2017 Cognizance of offences, Presumption of culpable mental state and Relevancy of statements under certain circumstances: FAQ NO. 36)

Culpable mental state includes
(a) Intention
(b) Motive
(c) Knowledge of the fact
(d) Belief in or reason to believe a fact

(ICAI FAQ PUBLICATIONS 06-09-2017 Cognizance of offences, Presumption of culpable mental state and Relevancy of statements under certain circumstances: FAQ NO. 35)

Yes. In any prosecution for an offence under this Act which requires a culpable mental state on the part of the accused, the Court shall presume the existence of culpable mental state but it shall be a defence for the accused to prove the fact that he had no such mental state with respect to the act charged as an offence in that prosecution.

(ICAI FAQ PUBLICATIONS 06-09-2017 Cognizance of offences, Presumption of culpable mental state and Relevancy of statements under certain circumstances: FAQ NO. 34)