Businessman Praveen Sawhney, a Swiss bank account holder, has been summoned as accused by a Delhi court in an alleged tax evasion case against him filed by the Income Tax Department.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pritam Singh took cognizance of the IT department's complaint and directed 57-year-old Sawhney, a South Delhi resident, to appear before it on March 8.
"Complainant has filed complaint for the offence under sections 276C(1), 277 and 276D of the IT Act for the Assessment Year 2006-07 with identical allegations against the accused.
"Perusal of complaint and materials available on record, prima facie discloses commission of offence under sections 276C(1), 277 and 276D of the IT Act for the relevant assessment years. Hence, cognizance of the offence is taken... Let accused be summoned for March 8," the court said.
In the complaint, the department alleged that Sawhney, proprietor of Sawhney Sons in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, was holding an account in HSBC Bank in Geneva which was opened in 1990, but had not disclosed it to the tax authorities here earlier.
It claimed that in July 2011, a search was conducted on Bhushan Lal Sawhney, managing director of Sawhney Tyres, and others including the accused. Praveen, the son of Bhushan Lal, had admitted on oath that he had one bank account in a foreign country, i.E, HSBC Bank, Geneva, it said.
A notice was issued to him to furnish details of the foreign bank account but he wilfully did not disclose it, the IT complaint alleged.
It also alleged that the businessman had USD 6.57 lakh (Rs 3.02 crore) in his foreign account in December 2005 which he had not disclosed to Indian tax authorities and the amount was treated as undisclosed income for assessment year 2006-07.
The assessment was framed at a total income of Rs 10.76 crore and a penalty of Rs 3.6 crore was levied on him for wilfully concealing the true income, the department alleged.
"The accused by not disclosing his foreign bank account and by not declaring transactions made by him in the account, had wilfully attempted to evade tax and concealed his true income and committed an offence under section 276(c)(1) of the IT Act," it said.
It also booked him under sections 277 and 276D of the IT Act alleging he had made a false statement in verification and not furnished details wilfully respectively.
