Country's second-largest software exporter Infosys today said it has made a total advance tax payment of Rs 1,180 crore for the fiscal 2009-10.
"We are among the top tax payers in the software and BPO industry. For fiscal year 2010, our total advance tax payment is Rs 1,180 crore," the company Chief Executive Officer Krish Gopalakrishnan said.
Infosys also refuted reports of evasion of taxes and duties, saying it did not claim any tax or duty benefit till its SEZ unit in Chandigarh got approved by the Ministry of Commerce on June 16, 2006 and signing of the customs bond on July 10, 2006. "Therefore there is no question of evasion of taxes and duties (direct and indirect)," it said.
"No land has been sold to us by the Chandigarh Administration on free hold basis. Infosys signed the land lease agreement as per the provisions of SEZ Rules on April 3, 2009," the company said.
The firm has not carried out a series of complex buying and lease deals with the Chandigarh Administration to buttress the legality of its SEZ status," Infosys said in a statement.
Stating that the land was vacant at the time of filing the application by the Chandigarh Administration, the subsequent construction activities have been fully disclosed and the government has also confirmed the same in its inspection report and this fact has been considered by the government before the issuance of the SEZ notification.
The SEZ being developed by Infosys has come under the scanner of the revenue department for allegedly breaking some norms. SEZ rules require that land should be vacant for getting approval. The revenue department in the Finance Ministry claimed that it had found some structures on SEZ land even before the approval was given.
