I-T dept probing Radia for tax evasion, SC told
The Income Tax department has told the Supreme Court that it is investigating corporate lobbyist Niira Radia for tax evasion .
In a report submitted to the apex court, tax authorities have said the investigations were launched on the basis of details gathered during a raid on two alleged hawala operators, Anil Bansal and Radhey Shyam Bansal.
The Bansal brothers allegedly specialized in helping people turn their unaccounted income into legitimate funds by providing a cover for a fee.
Their methods involved routing transactions through a maze of bank accounts.
The I-T department had raided the Bansal brothers on April 11, 2011 in a joint action with CBI.
The report submitted by the I-T department earlier this month said the intercepts of Radia's phone conversations pointed to her links with the Bansal brothers , but without spelling out the specifics of Radia's dealings with the hawala operators . The report did not specify whether she benefited from their skill as "accommodation entry providers" .
A spokesperson of Radia's Vaishnavi Corporate Communications denied that she had any dealings with the Bansal brothers.
"The suggestion of Radia's link with Bansal and his brother is clearly part of a sustained defamatory campaign to malign Niira Radia's image and reputation.
Any such suggestion is absolutely false and misleading. We clearly and unequivocally deny any, however miniscule , association with Anil Bansal and R S Bansal ," the spokesperson said in an emailed response to TOI.
The statement also said Radia had already written to the I-T department denying her links with the Bansals.
"We have extended all cooperation to the investigative agencies and repose complete faith in them.
We are deeply anguished at the attempt to malign our reputation on the basis of unverified and unidentified sources at the behest of vested corporate interests," the Vaishnavi spokesperson said.
At least 14 telephones of Radia and her associates were put under surveillance for two months in 2008. Ten of these phones were tapped for another two months with the approval of the home ministry , while six were intercepted for another 60 days from May 11, 2009.
Investigations by the I-T department have revealed that some of the intercepted conversations related to transactions by some telecom companies which were allotted 2G spectrum licences .
The report to the SC said investigations in the case of telecom companies embroiled in the 2G scam were in an advanced stage and the findings were being forwarded to the assessment wing for reassessment of their incomes .
The probe has already revealed unaccounted transactions, some of them relating to the 2008-09 financial year.
The probe also revealed that some of these foreign companies that had been issued shares at a premium by telecom firms have permanent establishments in India and are likely to be taxed by the government.
I-T dept may expose names of defaulters
T he income tax department is working on a plan to publish the names of tax defaulters in newspapers as part of its strategy to recover pending tax dues.
The I-T department has been faced with a huge problem as more than Rs 1 lakh crore is pending due to lack of any details about the defaulters. Officials said that several defaulters had created what are known as "benami assets" which was acting as an obstacle in tracing them.
The department is likely to publish the names of defaulting assessees who are either not traceable or whose assets are not identifiable, sources said, adding that informants providing details of defaulters would be rewarded.
