A resident of Bhind in Madhya Pradesh, Ravi Gupta, opened the doors to a surprise when he received an Income Tax demand notice of Rs 113 crore for alleged transactions worth Rs 132 crore in his account in 2011-12. This came despite the fact that Gupta, who earns a meagre monthly income of Rs 53,000, was not even aware of having such transactions in his account. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office, too, took cognizance of the matter and initiated an inquiry into Gupta’s case.
At the heart of the matter is a diamond-trading company, “Tiya Traders”, which was registered as a firm in Surat and Mumbai. The tax-department claimed that the company had Tax Identification Number (TIN) registration, service tax registration, Cheque details of Tiya Traders of RBL Bank and an Axis Bank account which had been opened at Malad, Mumbai branch.
Gupta, however, insists that he did not have any connection whatsoever with Tiya Traders, except for possessing its PAN copy and a photograph. He has lodged complaints with the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the last five years have marked an incessant attempt to clear his name. While CBI has forwarded the complaint to Economic Offence Wing (EoW) Gwalior, the income-tax department continued to harass Gupta and issued another notice of Rs 113 crore on March 28.
The notice mandated Gupta to pay the tax amount “within the period specified” and warned of penalty (which may be as much as the amount of tax in arrear) to be imposed if the amount is not paid in time. Should he choose to appeal against the assessment, he has been asked to present an appeal in Form No. 35, duly stamped and verified as laid down in that form.
The case sets a precedence for similar instances that often go unheard. Ravi Gupta, who is a victim of a big fraud racket, is yet another example of such individuals whose voice goes unheard to the wider public. He believes that the only way to get his name cleared is to diligently fight his case until justice is met. Through his case, he sets a fulcrum upon which other similar cases requiring attention can rest.
Poco C51, Microsoft’s OpenAI’s DALL-E-Powered AI Image Generator and other such developments are launching in India that are set to make a mark in the online ecosystem. These projects hint on accessible technologies for all that are set to facilitate smooth transactions, thereby minimizing instances of fraudulent activities.
