Fastway served notice for evading Rs 2,100-cr tax: Sidhu

CHANDIGARH: Cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu today claimed that a show-cause notice had been served on a private multi-system operator in cable business by the Director General of GST Intelligence for allegedly evading service tax of Rs 2,100 crore.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 4

Cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu today claimed that a show-cause notice had been served on a private multi-system operator in cable business by the Director General of GST Intelligence for allegedly evading service tax of Rs 2,100 crore.

Naming MD Gurdeep Singh of Fastway Transmission Pvt Limited as the main offender, Sidhu hinted at the strong political backing of a senior SAD leader he enjoyed. He also named its subsidiaries in the same business as partners in evasion.

This amount did not include Rs 2,600 crore that was let off between 2008 and 2013 and that could not be claimed now as it was time barred, Sidhu said.

Fastway CEO Peeyush Mahajan said, “The press note released by Sidhu is based on twisted facts and false statements, mainly for personal vendetta and to save Amarjit Singh Dhaliwal. Dhaliwal, who was providing the papers, was caught by the Vigilance Bureau in a bribery case. The case hearing is fixed for October 5.”

Sidhu said the tax amount was very important in the context that the state was entitled to 62 per cent share of the total collections. Besides MD, Fastway, Gurdeep Singh, notices have also been issued to CA Rajesh Mehru, CEO Peeyush Mahajan and GM (Accounts) Chaman Lal Katyal.

The Service Tax Department has served more than 1,500 notices on local cable operators for evading at last Rs 336 crore, Sidhu said.

“The press conference is based on a show-cause notice to Fastway Transmission Pvt Limited, issued way back in January 2018. The main purpose was spreading false and frivolous propaganda through the stage-managed press conferences, mainly to create the scare in the mind of witnesses just before the scheduled date of hearing,” Fastway CEO Mahajan said.

Mahajan said the sole purpose of the press conference just before the date of court trial was to save Amarjit Dhaliwal.

No evasion of tax was ever noticed by investigation teams.

The GST/Service Tax Department has not quantified or confirmed any tax liability on the company.