Telgi had Rs 190 crore income tax dues

The IT department was able to auction only one of the ten properties seized and recover Rs 1.40 crore.

The kingpin of the fake stamp paper racket, Abdul Karim Telgi died at a hospital in Bengaluru on Thursday. In all there were 28 cases against him of which he was convicted in 4 and acquitted in 2.

Telgi had Rs 190 crore income tax dues with interest at the time of his death. In 2005, the Income Tax department had raised a demand of Rs 120 crore. At that time it was the highest tax demand against an individual.

The claim was contested by Telgi in court. He in his tax returns had declared an income of a few lakhs each year between 1996 and 2003. However a tax tribunal in 2003 said that he had accumulated a huge sum of unaccounted money from the fake stamp paper racket. The Tax Department assessed his income for the assessment year 1996-97 alone at Rs 4.54 crore, out of which Rs 2.29 crore was "unaccounted".

Telgi however argued that the unaccounted money was from his kerosene transport business. He however was unable to provide any proof of the same In five years between 1999 and 2004, Telgi filed tax returns declaring an income of Rs 2.88 crore as against income of Rs 160 crore assessed by the tax authority.

The IT department was able to auction only one of the ten properties seized and recover Rs 1.40 crore.

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