Hyderabad: The income-tax department has defended its action of recovering Rs 1,274 crores from the Telangana State Beverages Corp. Ltd. (TSBCL) for the assessment years 2012-13 and 2013-14.
The IT authorities have filed a counter affidavit denying the allegations of the Telangana government in a review petition and also in a contempt case moved against the I-T department in withdrawing the tax dues from the account of the state government in the Reserve Bank of India.
While setting aside an attachment of liquor stocks of TSBCL by the I-T department for not paying tax arrears, the High Court on May 1, 2015 had ordered that the alleged dues of AP Beverages Corporation Ltd (APBCL) for the assessment year 2012-13 after the appointed day, can be recovered from the successor state governments as per Section 68 (2) of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, as all these dues being part of liability can be apportioned accordingly.
The tax authorities, however, told the court they had issued notice to the chief secretary of Telangana on May 18 requesting to pay Rs 1,274 crores in a one month failing which it will be constrained to recover the same as directed by the court.
The tax officials said that they had recovered dues from RBI, which was holding money the state government, as there was no response to the notice.
Contending that the deduction was under due authority of law, the I-T authorities said that the department was competent to recover the liability of tax dues of APBCL from the successor state governments. As the government has not has not questioned the notices, they have become final.
HC stays another call data case
Justice Vilas V. Afzulpurkar of the Hyderabad High Court on Friday granted stay on all further proceedings relating to the orders passed by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court, Vijayawada directing Vodafone and Tata Teleservices of Hyderabad to submit call data and original letters of interception by the competent authority of Telangana.
Admitting another petition moved by the TS government challenging the CMM’s court at Vijayawada, Justice Afzulpurkar directed the two companies to submit the call data as ordered by the lower court in a sealed cover before it and asked the lower court to return the sealed cover to the HC Registry through a messenger without opening it.
The lower court had ordered the telecom firms to furnish the information in an alleged tapping of the AP CM’s phone.
