TN minister C Vijaya Baskar's properties attached

Months after he came under the I-T scanner, properties of Tamil Nadu minister C Vijaya Baskar have been provisionally attached by the Income Tax department for alleged tax evasion.
The properties attached include approximately 100 acres of land and a quarry in Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu, a senior Income Tax official said.
The process to determine the minister's tax liability would start soon, he said.
Tax authorities have written to the state registration department, asking them not to register any attached property of the state health minister.
The case is in the process of being sent from investigation to the assessment wing, which would determine the minister's tax liability and the attachment would continue till the procedure is over, the official said.

"Provisional attachment will be converted into regular attachment upon raising of regular demand and if the assesse pays tax, all attachment will be lifted immediately," the official told PTI.

On the rationale behind attaching properties of about 100 acres, the official said the extent of attachment will be "commensurate with the likelihood of demand (for tax)."
Though the properties have been attached, the assesse continue to 'use it, enjoy it, rent it out' and the only bar is that it cannot be sold, he said.
In April last, tax officials conducted searches at the premises of the minister, his relatives and aides, which had led to unearthing of documents that shed light on alleged routing of Rs 89 crore to voters of poll-bound R K Nagar. The by-polls were later cancelled.