Indore-based textile firm Neo Corp International has said it would not appeal against the "administrative assistance" sought by the income tax (I-T) department of the Swiss Federal Tax Administration on its bank accounts in that country.
"We had opened two accounts to raise funds in 2011. Investment of Rs 104 crore was parked in one account. The said account had never been funded and, hence, was closed in February 2012 by the bank (Investec Bank, Switzerland)," Sunil Trivedi, chairman and managing director of the company, told this newspaper on telephone.
The company had opened the account with Investec in June 2011.
"As standard procedure, the department gets such information verified by the counterpart in other countries. The income tax department has requested the Swiss authorities to confirm the details of the said account," Trivedi told Business Standard.
Switzerland on Tuesday said it had received a request for information (from India tax authorities) about Neo Corp's account and had given the company 30 days to file an appeal against sharing of the information.
The company told Business Standard, "During the search under section 132(1) of the Income Tax Act, conducted on February 27, 2015 (for evidence of tax evasion), the department got details of this account from the official records of the company. Upon enquiry, the company submitted the details of the account, along with account statements and closure of the account."
"The company has decided not to go for an appeal, so that I-T department gets the requisite confirmation as soon as possible…The company is committed to inform promptly to the exchange any event/information that may be having a bearing on the operation/ performance of the company," the company told Business Standard.
Neo Corp began as a small woven sack-maker in 1985. It now claims to be a multinational technical textiles group. Sunil's father, K S Trivedi, also known as Bachchu Bhai, set up Neo Corp as a private limited company in February 1985 at Indore. It became a public limited company in April 1986. With an equity base of 38.02 million shares, it is listed on the BSE and the Bourse de Luxembourg.
The company says it has presence in New York, London, Hong Kong, China, Uruguay, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany Greece, Italy, the Netherland, New Zealand, Spain, Dubai, Syria, UAE, the United Kingdom, the United States, Djibouti and Muscat.
NCIL also enjoys a Star Export House status since 1994. Its latest annual revenue was Rs 744 crore and net profit was Rs 30.2 crore.
