diff --git a/tools4rdf/network/parser.py b/tools4rdf/network/parser.py
index cddbbc6..d45e234 100644
--- a/tools4rdf/network/parser.py
+++ b/tools4rdf/network/parser.py
@@ -7,8 +7,6 @@
 
 
 def parse_ontology(infile, format="xml"):
-    if not os.path.exists(infile):
-        raise FileNotFoundError(f"file {infile} not found!")
     graph = Graph()
     graph.parse(infile, format=format)
     return OntoParser(graph)