Tulip Telecom CMD arrested for alleged Rs 32-crore service tax evasion

A case has been registered against Tulip Telecom for allegedly evading service tax of about Rs 32.16 cr

The chairman and managing director (CMD) of a telecom company here has been arrested for allegedly evading service tax of Rs 32 crore.     

A case has been registered against Tulip Telecom, sources said.     

The Delhi Service Tax Commissionerate found the telco, into net services, among others, was not filing its mandatory returns of the central levy from 2012-13.

Commissionerate officials arrested retired lieutenant colonel H S Bedi on Tuesday on charges of non-payment of tax even after collecting it from consumers, sources said.

Calls and emails for the telco’s comment did not get any response.     

Bedi, produced before a court here on Wednesday, has been sent to judicial custody for 14 days.     

An evasion of service tax of Rs 50 lakh and above has been made a cognisable offence after the passage of the 2013-14 Finance Bill on May 10.     

Finance Minister P Chidambaram had proposed provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code in the 2013-14 Budget to arrest such offenders, in line with customs and central excise laws.     

Earlier, the officials did not have any power to arrest a person for service-tax evasion.     

Officials are taking strict action against all evaders after a first-of-its-kind amnesty scheme for such defaulters ended in December.