IT dept not targeting any individual:IT Commissioner

Mumbai, Jun 13: Reacting to the controversy over the issuance of IT notice to cinestar Amitabh Bachchan, Income Tax Commissioner, Mumbai, H Tulsyan today said the department was not targeting any individual and the ''aggrieved party was entitled to move any forum under the law'' against the department.

''If a notice is due, it will be given and if the individual is aggrieved by it, they are entitled to move any forum under the law against the department,'' Mr Tulsyan told reporters at the Aaykar Bhavan after a group of 10-15 people under the aegis of ''Amitabh Bachchan fan club'' staged a demonstration criticising the IT department for allegedly slapping a notice against the film icon for purchase of sunglasses worth lakhs of rupees.

Mr Tulsyan said the IT department was not obliged to give any information regarding individual cases or provide any clarification. ''I did issue a clarification to deny the IT notice regarding the sunglasses because it was like making a mountain out of a molehill,'' he added.

''We are not harassing anybody. If any action has to be taken, we will be taking it,'' he added.

Refusing to answer repeated questions regarding notices to Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan regarding Lotus Investments, he said, ''If a notice is due, it will be a valid legal notice.'' On whether the department served notices based on newspaper reports, Mr Tulsyan said, ''We do collect information on the basis of newspaper reports''.

Meanwhile, according to highly placed sources in the IT department, the notice regarding Lotus Investments was served early this year. Ms Jaya Bachchan was the director in this company from 1998-2002. The notice was sent to 'Pratiksha' bungalow in Juhu as per the records with the department, they said. ''It was not sent to Amitabh or Jaya Bachchan but in the name of the company which now has its office in Versova. Income Tax arrears were due and the case has been reopened,'' the sources added.

Besides, two letters seeking explanation about the ownership of 'Jalsa'' bungalow, the residence of the Bachchans, were sent on April 21 and May 29, the sources said. The letters were sent because the details of the property in the name of Jaya Bachchan were not mentioned in the income tax returns.

UNI