ANIL RAO Vs. UOI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY the impugned Order dated 31st July, 2007 the Appellate Tribunal for Foreign exchange has partly allowed the application for waiver of pre-deposit and directed pre-deposit of 25% of the penalty amount of Rs. 20 lacs.

(2.) INCOME Tax Department in 2002 during the course of search in the premises of the petitioner had come across foreign bank accounts maintained by the petitioner. The petitioner did not have permission of the Reserve Bank of India to maintain the said accounts after he returned back to India in 1986. The petitioner, however, claims that in 2003 he had written to the Reserve Bank of India and he was asked to close the foreign currency accounts and remit the proceeds to his bank accounts to India. It is the case of the petitioner that subsequently the foreign bank accounts were closed and the proceeds therein of about US$ 75000. 00 were remitted to India.

(3.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioner contends that letter dated 14th July, 2003 written by the Reserve Bank of India is a special direction/permission granted under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and therefore the alleged violation by the petitioner stands condoned after the permission was granted. This is disputed by the learned counsel for the respondent- Enforcement directorate who submits that the petitioner had written a letter to the Reserve bank of India after the search was conducted by the Income Tax Department and the letter dated 14th July, 2003 is not a permission granted with retrospective effect.