Hutch-Essar: I-T poses 33 questions to GhoshBS Reporters / New Delhi April 10, 2007Income Tax authorities at Mumbai have posed 33 questions to Hutchison Essar managing director Asim Ghosh as part of the summons issued to him under section 131 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.The summons were issued on March 27 - around the same time the department asked Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecom International (HTIL) to pay capital gains tax on the sale of its holding in Hutchison Essar to Vodafone.The queries posed include details about when Ghosh acquired shares of Goldspot Mercantile Company, his source of investment in the company and the reasons for the creation of a subsidiary - Plustech Mercantile Company, which in turn set up another subsidiary Centrino Trading Company. CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGEThe Hutch-Essar stake sale to Vodafone is the focus of a multi-agency probe at the moment. A crucial meeting of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) is scheduled for April 12 to discuss Vodafone's application seeking approval of the deal.While demanding extensive details of these companies (the composition of the board, the shareholders' minute books, statutory registers, audited annual report, latest trial balance sheet of Plustech), the investigative wing of the tax department has also asked Ghosh to clarify why he had been given the opportunity to acquire shares in Hutchison Essar.Tax authorities have also sought to know the reason for the use of three layers of companies to acquire shares in Telecom Investments India (TIIL), which owns 4.7% of Hutchison Essar. They also want to know whether all of Ghosh
