Any person commits any of the following offences, namely:—
(a) supplies any goods or services or both without issue of any invoice, in violation of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder, with the intention to evade tax;
(b) issues any invoice or bill without supply of goods or services or both in violation of the provisions of this Act, or the rules made thereunder leading to wrongful availment or utilisation of input tax credit or refund of tax;
(c) avails input tax credit using such invoice or bill referred to in clause (b);
(d) collects any amount as tax but fails to pay the same to the Government beyond a period of three months from the date on which such payment becomes due;
(e) evades tax, fraudulently avails input tax credit or fraudulently obtains refund and where such offence is not covered under clauses (a) to (ci);
(f) falsifies or substitutes financial records or produces fake accounts or documents or furnishes any false information with an intention to evade payment of tax due under this Act;
(g) obstructs or prevents any officer in the discharge of his duties under this Act;
(h) acquires possession of, or in any way concerns himself in transporting, removing, depositing, keeping, concealing, supplying, or purchasing or in any other manner deals with, any goods which he knows or has reasons to believe are liable to confiscation under this Act or the rules made thereunder;
(i) receives or is in any way concerned with the supply of, or in any other manner deals with any supply of services which he knows or has reasons to believe are in contravention of any provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder;
(j) tampers with or destroys any material evidence or documents;
(k) fails to supply any information which he is required to supply under this Act or the rules made thereunder or (unless with a reasonable belief, the burden of proving which shall be upon him, that the information supplied by him is true) supplies false information; or
(l) attempts to commit, or abets the commission of any of the offences mentioned in clauses (a) to (k) of this section,
shall be punishable -
Sl. No. |
Quantum of default |
Punishment |
The imprisonment in all these cases shall not be less than six months unless anything contrary is provided |
1 |
Amount of default is more than Rs. 5,00,00,000 |
Upto 5 years with fine |
2 |
Amount of default is from Rs. 2,50,00,000 - 5,00,00,000 |
Upto 3 years with fine |
3 |
Amount of default if from
Rs. 100,00,000-2,50,00,000 |
Upto 1 year with fine |
4 |
When offence is one of those mentioned in (f), (g) and (j) above |
Upto 6 months Or fine Or both |
5 |
Any person convicted of an offence under this section is again convicted for an offence under this section |
Imprisonment upto five
years and fine for every
time the offence is repeated |
6 |
Offences in a, b, c, d above and punishable under part (1) of this table shall be Cognizable and non-bailable |
7 |
Apart of the offence mentioned in point No. 6 above all other offences will be non-cognizable and bailable |
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