95-yr-old to be tried for tax evasion

A 95-year-old director of south Delhi’s Hotel Rajdoot will be put on trial for not depositing income tax for five consecutive years, beginning 1989.

A 95-year-old director of south Delhi’s Hotel Rajdoot will be put on trial for not depositing income tax for five consecutive years, beginning 1989.

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Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ajay Gupta has, however, exempted the hotel’s sole surviving director Jarnail Singh from making personal appearance in the case.

IT authorities had filed 16 separate complaint cases of tax evasion against the hotel and its three of its directors, two of who are no more.

“It is prima facie clear from the submissions of defence counsel that accused persons have defaulted in paying of taxes and filing return,” the court said.

The director, in his defence, said that the 1998 KVSS IT scheme granted immunity to tax defaulters, if they had deposited the tax along with the requisite penalty. Brijesh Garg, the IT department counsel, however, refuted the argument and said the scheme was launched in 1998. The present complaints, however, had been lodged much before 1998, he said.