The Income Tax (I-T) department has raided 12 Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL) premises, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources. The raided premises include residences of two HDIL directors. HDIL’s shares dropped 3.85% on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday to Rs308.65. The benchmark 30-stock Sensex rose 0.21% to close at 16,216.86 points. HDIL is listed on both the BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
The search began at 8:30am at the firm’s corporate offices in Mumbai. A senior IT official confirmed the development but declined to disclose the findings of the search. “The search and survey pertain to tax evasion issues related to the real estate and infrastructure sector,” he said, adding that the search would continue on Friday. He declined to be identified.
Hariprakash Pandey, deputy general manager (finance) of HDIL also confirmed that the searches had been conducted. “It is a normal income tax search on the corporate offices of HDIL and the officials are checking the books of accounts of HDIL.
HDIL had earlier raised Rs1,698 crore through a qualified institutional placement or QIP, in which shares are placed privately with potential institutional buyers such as banks. HDIL cut its debt to Rs2,900 crore at the end of June from Rs4,143.31 crore at the end of March.
Sources said the department has recovered unaccounted cash of Rs 1.54 crore so far.
HDIL has been claiming excess expenses and undermining profits, it has been alleged. Over 100 I-T department officials were involved in the raids today, sources said.
More than Rs 300 crore of unaccounted income has so far been unearthed by the tax department in 2009 and in the latest case it almost seems like a thriller of sorts. At around 8:30 am with synchronised watches, more than 100 IT department officials began their raid on 12 of HDIL’s premises. Two premises were residential premises of directors and 10 business premises.
What were the charges? According to sources, the IT department alleges that HDIL has suppressed its profits by claiming excess expenditure. So, in short in a nutshell, the IT department has alleged tax evasion against HDIL. These raids, which began in the morning, were mostly based around the Bandra area and we also understand that there was another small player – Seaside Developers – based in Kandivli, who is also under the scanner of the IT department as far as the entire investigation is concerned.
So, as of now what we understand from sources is that Rs 1.5 crore of unaccounted cash has been unearthed during the raids on HDILs premises that were conducted this morning. This is the amount that has been unearthed so far. It is a developing story and we also understand that this would be a two-day raid and by tomorrow evening we will get a clearer picture.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
SEIZE PROPERTIES OF CORRUPT OFFICIALS, SAYS CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA
Sat, Sep 12 01:40 PM
New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan today favoured statutory provision for seizure of illegal properties and assets of government officials convicted in corruption cases. He also wanted specialised teams of lawyers to ensure that they will progressively develop expertise in prosecuting corruption-related cases.
"If a public official amasses wealth at the cost of public, then the state is justified in seizing such assets," Balakrishnan said at a national seminar on ''Fighting Crimes related to Corruption''. "One prominent suggestion is the inclusion of a statutory remedy that will enable confiscation of properties belonging to persons who are convicted of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA)", the Chief Justice said.
The CJI said procedural delays like granting sanction and difficulty in marshalling large number of witnesses were the major hurdles in achieving meaningful convictions when the anti-corruption agencies was already finding it difficult to grapple with 9,000 pending cases due to shortage of designated courts. "It is necessary (that) there should be a speedy manner of granting sanction.
The prosecution becomes ineffective if the sanction is granted after 6-7 years," he said. Balakrishnan expressed concern that CBI relies on large number of witnesses in the corruption cases instead of coming out with solid witnesses which unnecessary prolongs the trial of the case for 3 to 4 years.
"Instead of having 8 to 10 witnesses, emphasis should be on having one solid witness to prove the case," he said. .
It is really a wonderful and needy solution. Until and unless there is fear of losing everything, the corrupt officials will not mend their ways.
Towards this, the Government should seek all the data from their servants regarding their movable/immovable properties. Even if one purchases any goods worth more than Rs. 25,000/-, they should seek prior permission. {If one wants the Govt job, then they must obey the rules. Otherwise, there are plenty of over-qualified and honest persons available to do the job}. Slight violation of the rule should also not be tolerated. Besides administrative action, there must be heavy levy of penalty. For example, if one is got for holding a property worth Rs. 5,00,000/-, the penalty must be Rs. 25,00,000/- (5 times). Similarly, the Anonymous complaints cell must be formed under 'Right to Information' to gather information on the corrupt officials. Till the investigation is completed, the official under scanner can be named as "X" or "Y", and once the investigation is over, it must be published for information to all.
New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan today favoured statutory provision for seizure of illegal properties and assets of government officials convicted in corruption cases. He also wanted specialised teams of lawyers to ensure that they will progressively develop expertise in prosecuting corruption-related cases.
"If a public official amasses wealth at the cost of public, then the state is justified in seizing such assets," Balakrishnan said at a national seminar on ''Fighting Crimes related to Corruption''. "One prominent suggestion is the inclusion of a statutory remedy that will enable confiscation of properties belonging to persons who are convicted of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA)", the Chief Justice said.
The CJI said procedural delays like granting sanction and difficulty in marshalling large number of witnesses were the major hurdles in achieving meaningful convictions when the anti-corruption agencies was already finding it difficult to grapple with 9,000 pending cases due to shortage of designated courts. "It is necessary (that) there should be a speedy manner of granting sanction.
The prosecution becomes ineffective if the sanction is granted after 6-7 years," he said. Balakrishnan expressed concern that CBI relies on large number of witnesses in the corruption cases instead of coming out with solid witnesses which unnecessary prolongs the trial of the case for 3 to 4 years.
"Instead of having 8 to 10 witnesses, emphasis should be on having one solid witness to prove the case," he said. .
It is really a wonderful and needy solution. Until and unless there is fear of losing everything, the corrupt officials will not mend their ways.
Towards this, the Government should seek all the data from their servants regarding their movable/immovable properties. Even if one purchases any goods worth more than Rs. 25,000/-, they should seek prior permission. {If one wants the Govt job, then they must obey the rules. Otherwise, there are plenty of over-qualified and honest persons available to do the job}. Slight violation of the rule should also not be tolerated. Besides administrative action, there must be heavy levy of penalty. For example, if one is got for holding a property worth Rs. 5,00,000/-, the penalty must be Rs. 25,00,000/- (5 times). Similarly, the Anonymous complaints cell must be formed under 'Right to Information' to gather information on the corrupt officials. Till the investigation is completed, the official under scanner can be named as "X" or "Y", and once the investigation is over, it must be published for information to all.
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