Company Directors Get 3 Months Jail For Income Tax & Liability Delay

Company Directors Get 3 Months Jail For Income Tax & Liability Delay

Yash Patnaik, Mamta Patnaik, and their television production company have been convicted by a metropolitan magistrate court for failing to submit income tax amounting to Rs. 8.37 crore.

Yash Patnaik, Mamta Patnaik, and their television production company have been convicted by a metropolitan magistrate court for failing to submit income tax amounting to Rs. 8.37 crore. The court has sentenced the directors to three months imprisonment in three separate cases filed by the Income Tax department. Additionally, a fine of Rs. 5,000 has been imposed in each of the three cases.

The court, upon finding them guilty, stated, "In the event of payment being made at a later stage, it will be regarded as a default, and necessary action can be taken under the Income Tax Act. It is also evident that delayed deposit of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) does not exempt one from criminal liability."

The Income Tax department lodged three complaints against the television production company and its directors, who are involved in the creation of various popular TV series. 

During the proceedings, the special public prosecutor, Amit Munde, contended that the company had deducted taxes at the source and collected funds from clients but neglected to timely deposit them with the tax department.

In their defense, the director of the company said that they had promptly responded to the notice issued by the tax department. They contended that the failure to deposit the money was due to financial hardships, which were duly explained to the tax officer.