Court grants personal exemption to MD of Emaar MGF in IT case

Managing Director of real estate major Emaar MGF Shravan Gupta was today granted exemption from personal appearance for the day by a Delhi court which directed him to appear on May 5 in a case filed by the Income Tax (IT) department for allegedly not furnishing details of his bank accounts.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Devendra Kumar Sharma, who had summoned Gupta for today, fixed the case for hearing on May 5 in pursuance to a Delhi High Court order.
Gupta's counsel submitted that his client has challenged the court's order of taking cognisance on the IT department's complaint filed against him and the high court has reserved its verdict on the petition.

The trial court had on Febraury 27 summoned as accused Gupta whose name, along with those of others, has allegedly cropped up in the blackmoney case.
The IT department, in its compliant against Gupta, has alleged that he had not filed the income tax return of USD 1.5 million for financial year 2005-2006 and when questioned and confronted by the department about it, he admitted it.
It alleged that he had later filed the income tax return and declared the amount in his income.

The department said that on being asked by it, Gupta had refused to give his bank account details, after which the complaint was filed against him under section 276 D (failure to produce accounts and documents) of the IT Act.

It said after Gupta's name cropped up in the HSBC Bank list, he had paid the tax after making a voluntary disclosure.
According to the department, the HSBC Bank account was opened by Gupta in 2006 and it was closed in 2007 and tax was deposited by him voluntarily in 2011.