Red corner notice issued against Paonta firm MD

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, October 17

The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) has issued a red corner notice (RCN) against Rakesh Sharma, managing director of Paonta Sahib-based Indian Technomac Company, following a request by the state CID.

SP, Cyber Crime, State CID, Sandeep Dhawal, said Interpol issued the notice on October 15 as Sharma had fled abroad to avoid the arrest in this multi-crore financial scam.

Likely places of his location include the UAE (Dubai), London, Indonesia, Peru and South Africa. He was last reported to be in the UAE and was reportedly lodged in a Dubai jail in a cheque-bounce case.

As many as 22 persons — nine company employees (two company directors), two statutory auditors, two receiver of sold property, one assistant excise and taxation commissioner, two excise and taxation officers, three excise and taxation inspectors and three peons — have been arrested in the case.

The first chargesheet was filed in the case in January, a supplementary chargesheet in May while another supplementary chargesheet is likely to be filed against the remaining accused soon, said officials.

The company was manufacturing steel, raw materials, ferro alloys and steel ingots and it had become liable to pay tax from January 2008.

The Economic Intelligence Unit of the Excise and Taxation Department detected on February 18, 2014, a huge mismatch in the returns filed by the company and the VAT-26-A declarations. Several irregularities had been detected by a committee and the total tax liabilities were Rs 2,175.51 crore.

Though a tax notice was served on the company, the company instead filed appeals in the High Court as well as the apex court which were dismissed. Appeals were also filed before the HP Tax Tribunal but that too were dismissed.

Company officials closed the manufacturing operations surreptitiously in March 2014 and before the pending tax could be recovered, they vanished from the area.

While this has emerged as the biggest tax fraud in the state, it is intriguing to note that the accountability of the officials of various departments, who had failed to check the fraud in its initial stage, has not been fixed.

Rs 2,175-cr tax fraud

• The Excise and Taxation Department, on February 18, 2014, detected a huge mismatch in the returns filed by the company
• The total tax liabilities of Rs 2,175.51 crore had been detected
• Though a tax notice was served on the company, the company instead filed appeals in the High Court as well as the apex court which were dismissed

.