On Wednesday, the Chief Justice of Telangana High Court, Ujjal Bhuyan, presided over a case brought by Tech Mahindra against the Income Tax department.
The Chief Justice heard arguments from senior counsel Jehangir Mistry, who represented Tech Mahindra for several hours. The Chief Justice indicated that he would pass an order after hearing the version of the Income Tax department in the coming weeks.
During the hearing, the Chief Justice presiding over the Bench with Justice N Tukaramji noted that the perception of people regarding Income Tax officers is that they are “more professional”.
Tech Mahindra, under the new management of Mahindra group, believes that it was invited by the Centre to protect Satyam Computers after a fraud perpetrated by the then founder-cum-chairman, B Ramalinga Raju.
The company is seeking a restatement of accounts based on real income for accounting years 2002 to 2009. The Income Tax department has stated that all facets of the fraud have not yet come out and hence it cannot grant any out-of-the-way help to Tech Mahindra contrary to the I-T Act.
Mistry argued that the company had paid an excess tax of 126 crores, which had been confirmed by the CBI, SFIO, and HC. However, the Income Tax department is seeking to impose a tax of 2,000 crores on Tech Mahindra by withdrawing deductions availed by the company during the scam period.
Mistry stated that the Income Tax department is relying on the findings of the CBI and SFIO that the books of accounts were falsified by Raju for the purpose of disallowing deductions.
However, for conducting an assessment on real income, the Income Tax department refuses to accept the findings of the CBI and SFIO. Mistry further argued that protecting the cause of revenue should not be the sole purpose of the Income Tax department, and it should act fairly and determine the company’s real income during the scam period.
The matter was adjourned to April 12 for further steps.
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