Telangana wants RBI to return Rs.1,274 crore

The Telangana government has urged the Centre to intervene and direct the Reserve Bank of India to credit back Rs.1,274 crore to the state's account as the money was transferred "illegally" to the income tax department.

A state government delegation led by Minister for Panchayat Raj and Information Technology, K. Tarakarama Rao met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Delhi on Saturday.

Rao told reporters after the meeting that they urged Jaitley to ensure that the money is credited back to the state account.

He said the RBI transferred the money "illegally", suddenly without any notice and in violation of a court order.

The department had issued notice to Andhra Pradesh Beverages Corporation in the then united Andhra Pradesh, seeking tax dues worth Rs.2,900 crore.

Tarakarama Rao, who was leading the delegation on behalf of state Finance Minister Etela Rajender, said the Telangana government approached the court, challenging the notice on the ground that division of the corporations' assets and liabilities between the two states was still not completed.

The delegation, which included Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma, also told Jaitley that the state government is not an income tax assesee.

The state minister said even if the recovery was to be made, it should be from both the states.

The income tax department, earlier this year, issued a notice to attach depots of Telangana Beverages Corporation Ltd. to recover the dues. The Hyderabad High Court granted a stay on the attachment notice on the basis of a petition filed by the state.