Rajasthan commercial taxes department has launched a massive drive against tax evaders. In the last three months, the department has recovered Rs 66 crore causing havoc among tax evaders.
Finance secretary (revenue) Kumar Pal Gautam, who is also serving as chief commissioner commercial taxes said the department will not spare tax evaders.
“We will step up the enforcement drive and force tax evaders to pay up the taxes. We are committed to recover money from them and increase the revenue for state government,” he said .
The enforcement branch of the commercial tax department carried out intensive transport investigation operations using Artificial Intelligence (AI) based techniques and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tools. Under this operation, 24 vehicles were seized, in which items like betel nut, iron scrap, granite and marble were being transported illegally.
“A penalty of Rs one crore has been levied on these vehicles so far and penalty of another Rs 4 crore is under process. Many vehicles and goods owners have not yet come to redeem vehicles or collect goods, after which the department is preparing for revenue collection by auctioning such vehicles and goods,” said a senior official.
Gautam said that on the basis of technical evidence, survey action was carried out on many business establishments, due to which the department has received additional revenue of Rs 50 crore so far.
Big action in Kota: Tax evasion of Rs 1,500 crores revealed
In a major operation carried out in Kota last month, a case of tax evasion of Rs 1,500 crore in a pan masala manufacturing unit was exposed. Two persons have been arrested in this case, whose bail has been rejected by the District Sessions Court. Undocumented raw material was seized from the factory and an undisclosed warehouse. During this period, a cash deposit of Rs 15 crore was made on illegal stock without a bill, which is the largest immediate deposit ever in any enforcement proceedings in the state.
The department has sufficient evidence of a possible tax liability of more than Rs 1,500 crores in this case. The investigation of the case is being expedited and the recovery process will be started soon after fixing the demand amount.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
