'Name and shame' campaign: IT dept releases list of 18 defaulters owing Rs 1,150cr

New Delhi, Dec 30: Stepping up its 'name and shame' campaign, the Income Tax department today made public a third list of 18 tax defaulters including gold and diamond traders whose dues totalled around Rs 1,150 crore.

The IT department's public notice containing the names of the 18 defaulters who have either gone untraceable or have inadequate assets to pay is the third such list this year after names of 49 defaulters with a tax liability of over Rs 2,000 crore were earlier released in two instalments.

The list has been compiled by the department and issued by the Finance Ministry in leading national newspapers carrying names of the defaulting individuals or entities, their last known addresses, PAN numbers, amount of arrears, last known source of income and the assessment years for which they have not paid their due taxes.

A whopping Rs 779.04 crore default of income/corporate tax has been reflected in the name of one Mumbai-based Uday M Acharya (late) and his legal heirs Amul Acharya and Bhavana Acharya.

A number of defaulters whose names have been put in the public domain today, under the 'naming and shaming' policy adopted by the taxman early this year, have their last source of income shown from the trade of jewellery, diamonds and gold.

"The total tax default by these 18 defaulters under the personal Income Tax and Corporate Tax category is Rs 1,152.52 crore. This is the third list put in public domain by the IT department," a senior official said.

The department, in the notice, has asked these "defaulters" to pay their tax arrears "immediately" and at the same time asked public to inform it if they have any knowledge of these people. Others figuring in the latest list include Ahmedabad based Jag Heet Exporters Pvt Ltd (Rs 18.45 crore), Jashubhai Jewellers (Rs 32.13 crore), Kalyan Jewels Pvt Ltd (Rs 16.77 crore), Liverpool Retail India Limited (Rs 32.16 crore), Dharnendra Overseas Ltd (Rs 19.87 crore) and Praful M Akhani (Rs 29.11 crore).

Hyderabad based Nexxoft Infotel Ltd owes Rs 68.21 crore in default while Bhopal-based Great Metals Products Pvt Ltd owe Rs 13.01 to the IT department in arrears and as unpaid taxes, the notice said. The public notice mentions that a number of these assesses are either "not traceable" or have "inadequate or no assets for recovery."

The department has also mentioned, against the name of each defaulter, the regional IT authority to whom any information can be given by the public about these defaulters.

Other defaulters featuring on the list include Surat-based Sakshi Exports (Rs 26.76 crore), Smt Bimla Gupta of Karol Bagh in Delhi (Rs 13.96 crore), Bhopal-based Garima Machinery Pvt Ltd (Rs 6.98 crore), Mumbai-based Dhiren Anantrai Modi (Rs 10.33 crore), Hemang C Shah (Rs 22.51 crore), Mohd Haji alias Yusuf Motorwala (Rs 22.34 crore) and Chandigarh located Venus Remedies Pvt Ltd (Rs 15.25 crore). The period of assessment of these defaulters range from 1989-90 to 2013-14.

"The entries in the list are specific to the tax arrear/assessment year mentioned. The tax defaulter's address, business, shareholding and management may have changed," the notice said.

PTI