A high-ranking vigilance official who retired from the income tax (I-T) department with a disclosed annual income of Rs 4.11 lakh faces the charge of concealing a taxable income to the tune of about Rs 20 crore.
And the charge has been levelled by none other than a senior offical of the same section.
On a complaint filed by additional commissioner SK Srivastava on March 30, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued a notice on March 31 to reopen tax assessment case of the former director general (vigilance) & chief vigilance officer, CBDT, PK Mishra, for alleged concealment of income to the tune of Rs 20 crore in his returns and thereby evading tax in the fiscal year 2004-05.
Mishra, a 1970-batch Indian Revenue Service officer, took voluntary retirement in 2007. He was appointed I-T ombudsman, but took early retirement from that post as well.
“The board has taken action by issuing a notice on March 31,” said CBDT member (revenue) Manjari Kackar, to whom the complaint was addressed, confirming the notice.
Both Mishra and Srivastava could not be contacted for comments despite several attempts.
{{/usCountry}}Both Mishra and Srivastava could not be contacted for comments despite several attempts.
{{/usCountry}}Had the notice to reopen the assessment come just a day later, Mishra's case would have become time-barred under the Income Tax Act.
The act says that a tax notice has to be served within six years from the assessment year, failing which it gets time-barred.
Shrivastava has alleged that the chief commissioner (I-T), Delhi Circle-13, had also acted improperly to protect Mishra.
Documents in the possession of Hindustan Times show that the assessing authority had clearly mentioned that “Rs 20 crore income escaped assessment”.
A senior finance ministry official said, "The finance minister has issued diktat to go tough against willful tax evaders and black money hoarders”.