 "Lower fines, but more powers to assessing officers")
Not "satisfied" with the role of police in punishing value-added tax (VAT) defaulters, the Delhi government's trade and taxes department has initiated investigations against the city's ten big traders for tax evasion and will file charge sheet against them in court next month.
This is for the first time that the government's VAT department has invoked its investigative powers, equivalent to that of a police station, as laid out in the Delhi VAT Act to probe cases pertaining to tax evasion.
Sources said that the police adopts an "indifferent" attitude in some cases referred to it by the VAT department.
Under Section 92 of the Act, VAT commissioner can appoint an investigative officer, who has power similar to station house Officer of the Delhi Police, to probe roles of suspected VAT defaulters.
"The department recently appointed its VAT officials as Investigative Officers, on the lines of police, to probe the roles of ten traders who were suspected of tax evasions and fraud," said sources.
"Investigations will be completed soon and department will file charge sheet against 10 these traders in the court in April," they added.
Sources further said that in future, VAT officials will also play the role of an investigative officer to take up tax evasion cases in the national capital.
VAT department, headed by Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia, has focused on plugging loopholes to prevent tax evasion so that revenue could be increased.
The department has managed to get Rs 19,000 crore so far against its target of Rs 21,000 crore, which, officials claimed, will be achieved by the end of March.
