Multi-crore VAT scam: SIT exaggerated figures for a ‘sensational’ report, says Haryana govt

The government said the SIT “in order to make the figures big” had also included the tax which had already been demanded by its officials or where the notices had already been issued

 

By: Express News Service | Chandigarh | Published: August 12, 2017 2:24 am

The government said the SIT “in order to make the figures big” had also included the tax which had already been demanded by its officials or where the notices had already been issued. “The Department strongly denies the assertion of SIT that there was evasion of Rs 10,000 crore..” the report said.

Two years after a Special Investigation Team (SIT) setup by the Haryana Lokayukta pointed towards a tax evasion scam worth Rs 10,618 crore, the state government on Friday raised questions over the investigation team’s understanding of the issue and told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that it “strongly denies the assertion of SIT”. It further said the figure was exaggerated by the latter just “to make its  report sensational.”

“Without going into/understanding the legal provisions and without hearing the version of the dealers whose cases were examined, the SIT quantified, the figure of Rs 1,100 crore which was further extrapolated to Rs 10,000 crore to make its report sensational. Even the quantification of Rs 1,100 crore was not based on correct proposition,” said Raj Bahadur Singh Tewatia, Additional Excise & Taxation Commissioner (Legal),Haryana.

The SIT team headed by an IGP-rank IPS officer and comprising senior police and Exise and Taxation department officials in March 2015 had unearthed a VAT evasion case worth Rs 10,618 crore in various districts of Haryana by contractors, builders cigarette dealers, rice exporters and others. The Lokayukta in the interim recommendations had asked the government to start recovery proceedings in the cases without any delay and also take appropriate action against the guilty officials.

The government said the SIT “in order to make the figures big” had also included the tax which had already been demanded by its officials or where the notices had already been issued. “The Department strongly denies the assertion of SIT that there was evasion of Rs 10,000 crore..” the report said.

         Stating that the SIT had just “repeated what the Department was already doing,” the government said the work of assessment or reassessment, revision and examination of the tax refund cases is otherwise also a part of the normal working of the Department. It has said in order to recover the evaded tax alongwith penalty and interest, steps were initiated in 2015 itself and 380 cases of irregularities were found in the 2,094 examined cases of refund upto June 30 this year.

“More than 1,308 cases have been decided by the Revisional Authorities upto June 30, 2017, resulting in creation of an additional demand of Rs 711.59 crore,” Tewatia said in the report. “The recommendations …have been substantially complied, with the constitution of Special Assessment Teams which issued notices and decided 2,169 cases upto June 30, 2017, creating an additional demand of Rs 2,709.75 crore.

Challenging the government’s response, advocate Pardeep Rapria, who is the counsel for petitioners in the writ petition before the High Court, seeking action against the guilty involved in the scam, said the government on one hand said the authorities have created a demand of over 3,000 crores after assessments and revisions, yet it has rejected the SIT report.

“The SIT consisting of 14 senior police officers and three officers of Excise & Taxation Office; was headed by a very senior IPS Officer IG Shrikant Jadhav and now the government doubts the investigation skills of such an expert SIT. Such reply exposes the government’s zero tolerance policy towards corruption,” said Rapria.

          Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate on Friday told the High Court that out of total 59 FIRs registered so far, the government had provided only 29 FIRs to it. High Court has asked the government to provide all the information including the FIRs related to the case to ED.