GST officials seize assets worth ₹19 crore from Pankaja Munde’s sugar factory

In April, GST officials visited the factory, indicating the beginning of the action. GST action on the Vaidyanath factory came as a surprise and also a political message in Beed as Munde is a senior leader and former minister of the BJP

Mumbai: After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pankaja Munde recently organised an independent tour to show her strength, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Commissionerate on Monday seized assets worth ₹19 crore from the Munde-owned Vaidyanath Co-operative sugar factory in Beed district for not paying taxes on the sale of sugar.

The timing of the action has set tongues wagging as Munde took a two-month political break from July 7, and after two months, toured around 10 districts for ‘Shiv Shakti Yatra.’ However, the tour was not under the BJP banner but her own political tour (HT PHOTO)

The GST Comnissionerate seized assets such as boilers and other related machinery worth ₹19 crore. The sugar factory failed to pay the tax during the Covid pandemic. In April, GST officials visited the factory, indicating the beginning of the action. GST action on the Vaidyanath factory came as a surprise and also a political message in Beed as Munde is a senior leader and former minister of the BJP.

The timing of the action has set tongues wagging as Munde took a two-month political break from July 7, and after two months, toured around 10 districts for ‘Shiv Shakti Yatra.’ However, the tour was not under the BJP banner but her own political tour.

Since the defeat in the assembly election 2019, Munde feels sidelined in the state BJP and has been openly expressing her displeasure against the party leadership in the state, especially against deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

While responding to the action on the Vaidyanath Sugar factory, she again indicated that she is a victim of internal politics in the party. “Our factory is facing a financial crisis, and due to limited funds, we chose to pay the dues of farmers first. We needed financial assistance from the government. Along with some other factories, the name of our sugar factory was on the first list, which was sent for approval by the government. But except for our factory, all other factories received financial assistance. If we had received the assistance at that time this situation would not have arrived.” she said.