Page 4 - Tax Evasion

Tax evasion by insurance cos amounts to Rs 2,250, GIEAIA demands action

With about GST evasion amounting to about Rs 2,250 cr by some in general insurance industry, a major union in sector has urged government and regulator to cancel licences of such entities

CBIC to conduct two-month-long special drive to curb ITC fraud menace

"The move would likely help in curbing tax evasion," said Saurabh Agarwal, Tax Partner, EY

Tax evasion case: Xiaomi moves Karnataka High Court to challenge FD seizure

Xiaomi India's market share in the Indian handset industry has been steadily falling as a result of the legal problems

Need to check tax evasion, illicit fund flows by developing nations: OECD

Amid the current geopolitical and debt crisis, there is a pressing need to check tax evasion and illicit financial flows, especially by Asian nations, which lost estimated 25 billion euros in revenue in 2016, OECD's Tax Transparency report said on Thursday. Quoting a study, the OECD report said 4 per cent of Asia's financial wealth amounting to 1.2 trillion euros was held offshore, leading to a potential annual revenue loss of 25 billion euros for the region in 2016. The Tax Transparency in Asia 2023: Asia Initiative Progress Report said that the current global landscape makes the fight against tax evasion and other illicit financial flows (IFFs) even more pressing in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the geopolitical crisis resulted in slower economic growth, increased government expenditure on public health, social and economic support, and other areas. This resulted in reduced tax revenues and hindered states' finances. With a deteriorated debt outlook and the rise in .

GST officers find tax evasion by offshore entities offering online betting

Tax officers have detected violation of GST law by offshore entities offering online betting and gambling platforms to Indian residents through mobile apps and are working on ways to tackle such mode of tax evasion, a source said. As per the prescribed procedure, all offshore entities providing services in India are required to register as supplier of OIDAR (Online Information Database Access and Retrieval) services under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) law. According to the source, there are many offshore entities providing platforms for online betting and gambling in the country but are not GST-registered and hence are not paying the required GST. "Although several overseas educational bodies offering online courses in India are registered as OIDAR, the entities providing online gaming, betting ad gambling platforms are not registered under GST. We are pursuing such cases and hope to bring them under the GST net," the source told PTI. These online betting and gambling apps are .

I-T Dept sends 8,000 notices to taxpayers who claimed exemption for charity

The people who have been served notices include salaried employees, self-employed individuals, and companies

Ex-President Trump little fazed by possible indictment on tax evasion case

Former US President Donald Trump seemed little fazed by the possible indictment on the lower Manhattan Tax Evasion case following Attorney General Letitia James prosecution

GST Council to discuss GoM reports on tax evasion by gutkha firms on Feb 18

The GST Council in its meeting on Saturday is likely to discuss setting up appellate tribunals and mechanism to curb tax evasion in pan masala and gutkha business, sources said. The report of panel of ministers on Goods and Services Tax (GST) on online gaming and casinos may not come up for deliberation at the February 18 meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising her state counterparts. The items, which could not be discussed by the Council in its last meeting on December 17, 2022, would top the agenda of the 49th GST Council meeting on February 18, the sources said. The report of the Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by Odisha finance minister Niranjan Pujari, on checking tax evasion by pan masala and gutkha industry would be taken up for discussion. The report of the GoM on Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunals (GSTATs) was set up in July last year under the chairmanship of Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala.

Aware of I-T searches at BBC office; cannot offer any judgement: US

The United States on Tuesday said it is aware of the survey operation conducted by the Indian tax authorities at the BBC office in Delhi but is not in a position to offer its judgement. The Income Tax officials said the operation was part of a tax evasion investigation. "We are aware of the search of the BBC offices in Delhi by Indian tax authorities. I would need to refer you to Indian authorities for the details of this search. Beyond this discrete action, what I'll say more broadly is the general point that I've consistently made in this context, but in a universal context as well," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters here. "We support the importance of free press around the world. We continue to highlight the importance of freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief as human rights that contribute to strengthening democracies around the world. It has strengthened this democracy here in this country. It has strengthened India's democracy," Price ...

Reviewing govt's show cause notice on tax evasion, says Samsung India

DRI sent Samsung India a show cause notice, accusing it of skirting import taxes by misclassifying networking devices called remote radio heads to avail undue exemption of basic customs duty

DRI issues show cause notice against Samsung India for tax evasion: Report

The agency has asked the company on why it should not impose penalty against the management

GST Council meet begins; decriminalisation, gutkha biz tax on agenda

Decriminalisation of offences under the GST law, setting up appellate tribunals and mechanism to curb tax evasion in pan masala and gutkha businesses are among the issues slated to be discussed in the GST Council meeting which began on Saturday morning. Besides, GST on online gaming and casinos may come up for deliberations at the Council meeting. The Group of Ministers (GoM), chaired by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, set up last year on the issue had submitted its report to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday. The Council would also consider a report of tax officers and give clarity on the rate applicability in certain goods and services. "Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman chairs the 48th meeting of the GST Council via virtual mode, in New Delhi, today," the finance ministry tweeted. With regard to decriminalisation of offences, the law committee of the GST Council, comprising tax officers from the Centre and states, has suggested to the Council to ...

GST Council meeting: Panel for raising threshold for offences to Rs 2 cr

GST Council will also consider a ministerial panel report on setting up GST Appellate Tribunals

GST raids in UP's Noida uncover tax evasion of more than Rs 20 cr

The state GST department has conducted raids in 71 districts of Uttar Pradesh in two days

Trump Org convicted in executive tax dodge scheme, 2 entities guilty

Donald Trump's company was convicted of tax fraud on Tuesday in a case brought by the Manhattan District Attorney, a significant repudiation of financial practices at the former president's business. A jury found two corporate entities at the Trump Organization guilty on all 17 counts, including conspiracy charges and falsifying business records. The verdict came on the second day of deliberations following a trial in which the Trump Organization was accused of being complicit in a scheme by top executives to avoid paying personal income taxes on job perks such as rent-free apartments and luxury cars. The conviction is a validation for New York prosecutors, who have spent three years investigating the former president and his businesses, though the penalties aren't expected to be severe enough to jeopardize the future of Trump's company. As punishment, the Trump Organization could be fined up to USD 1.6 million a relatively small amount for a company of its size, though the ...

Donald Trump knew about company exec's tax fraud scheme, claims Prosecutor

Donald Trump knew exactly what was going on" with top Trump Organisation executives who schemed for years to dodge taxes on company-paid perks, a prosecutor said Thursday, challenging defence claims that the former president was unaware of the plot at the heart of the company's tax fraud case. Manhattan prosecutor Joshua Steinglass lobbed the bombshell allegation during closing arguments. He promised to share more details when he resumes on Friday, buoyed by the judge's decision to grant prosecutors permission to veer into territory that had been considered off limits because Trump is on trial. Judge Juan Manuel Merchan, overruling a defence objection after the jury had left court, said the company's lawyers opened the door by asserting in their closing arguments that Trump was ignoring of the scheme, hatched by his longtime finance chief just steps from his Trump Tower office. It was the defense who invoked the name Donald Trump numerous times," Merchan said, setting up a potential

'Culture of fraud': Trump Org tax case wraps up with closing arguments

Donald Trump's company cultivated a culture of fraud and deception by lavishing luxe perks on executives and falsifying records to hide the compensation, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday during closing arguments at the Trump Organisation's criminal tax fraud trial. Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Joshua Steinglass' fiery summation followed defence arguments that sought to focus blame for the fraud on longtime company finance chief Allen Weisselberg, who has admitted scheming to avoid paying personal income taxes on a company-paid apartment, luxury cars and other goodies. Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg," Trump Organisation lawyer Michael Van der Veen said, punctuating his closing argument with the defence team's mantra during the monthlong trial. Steinglass pushed back when it was his turn, telling jurors: Both halves of that sentence are wrong. It wasn't just Weisselberg doing it and it wasn't just Weisselberg who benefited. The Trump Organisation, the entity through whi

Income Tax dept conducts searches at Metropolis Healthcare in Mumbai

The Income-tax department on Wednesday conducted searches at the premises of Mumbai-based Metropolis Healthcare that runs medical diagnostic centres as part of a tax evasion investigation, official sources said. The locations of the company in Mumbai are being covered, they said. A response from the company is awaited. The company is a prominent player in the medical tests and diagnostics business domain. It had last week reported a consolidated profit after tax of Rs 40.5 crore for the second quarter that ended September 30.

Multi-agency searches at many locations in Guj for suspected tax offences

In a multi-agency operation led by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), officials are carrying out searches at around 200 locations in the state linked to more than 100 firms, and questioning people for suspected tax evasion and similar offences, sources said. Apart from the ATS, officials of the state Goods and Services Tax (GST) department and Ahmedabad crime branch are involved in the mega operation, they said. According to the sources, the searches are being carried out in several districts of the state, including Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar, against 122 firms. The authorities are questioning around 74 suspects in this connection and the operation is likely to expose large-scale tax-related offences, they said. Several cases of issuance of bogus bills to commit input tax credit (ITC) fraud have been detected in the state in recent times, the sources said.

I-T dept searches on Jharkhand Congress MLAs over tax evasion charges

The Income Tax Department on Friday conducted searches at properties linked to Jharkhand Congress MLAs Kumar Jaimangal and Pradip Yadav, officials said. Jaimangal alias Anup Singh is a legislator from Bermo, while Yadav who joined Congress after splitting from the JVM-P represents Poriyahat. Congress is a partner of the JMM-led ruling alliance in the state. The searches were conducted at the properties of the legislators in Ranchi, Bermo and Patna, officials said. Some private people, including an iron ore trader in Chaibasa, were also searched by the I-T Department, they said. Jaimangal said he was extending full cooperation to the I-T Department which is conducting the searches as part of an investigation into tax evasion charges. "The searches were carried out under the pressure of the BJP. Such action will have to be faced by those who are against BJP. I am against BJP and so, I am facing it. But, it can't scare me," he told reporters. Jaimangal was the MLA who in August lod