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DGGI rubbishes 'tax liability' claim about Kanpur trader Piyush Jain, says recovered amount kept in safe custody
Kanpur-based perfume trader Piyush Jain's arrest on December 26 led to a major war of words between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the challenger Samajwadi Party (SP) in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.
The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) on Thursday refuted reports claiming that the department has agreed to treat the money recovered from Kanpur-based perfume trader Piyush Jain as turnover of the manufacturing unit. The DGGI said that these reports are “purely speculative”.
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Some reports in a section of media had claimed that Piyush Jain deposited ₹52 crore as tax liability, with the approval of DGGI, and rest of the money was given back to him.
“These reports are without any basis and seek to undermine the integrity of the ongoing investigations which are being carried out in a most professional manner based on specific intelligence against the party,” the DGGI said in a release.
“In this regard, it is clarified that the total amount of cash in the ongoing case from the residential and factory premises of M/s Peeyush Jain has been kept as case property in the safe custody of the State Bank of India pending further investigations,” the release further said.
The DGGI said that a total cash of ₹197.49 crore, 23 kg of gold and offending goods of high value have been recovered from two premises belonging to Jain.
His arrest on December 26 led to a major war of words between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the challenger Samajwadi Party (SP) in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been touring UP ahead of next year’s assembly elections, took a veiled dig at SP over the large cash seizure, saying the 'Ittar' (perfume) of corruption that it had sprinkled all over Uttar Pradesh before 2017 is there for everyone to see.
Union home minister Amit Shah, who has also addressed multiple rallies in the state, used the issue to allege that the SP's lexicon starts with 'Apraadh' (crime), 'Bhaai-Bhatijavaad' (nepotism) and 'Corruption'.
The Samajwadi Party, meanwhile, denied any link with Jain and its president Akhilesh Yadav mocked the BJP, saying the party got "its own businessman" raided "by mistake".
"By mistake, the BJP got its own businessman raided. Instead of SP leader Pushpraj Jain, it got Piyush Jain raided," Yadav told reporters in Unnao.
