Rs 3000 crore tax scam, half the size of Himachal Pradesh's annual plan, rocks state

An estimated Rs 3,000 crore tax scam has rocked the small hill state Himachal Pradesh.

The state government sources said a Delhi based firm owner Dr Rakesh Sharma, who had set up a refined noble alloys manufacturing unit Indian Technomac Company Limited at Majra, Paonta Sahib in Sirmaur district in 2009 was involved in sales tax, income tax and excise duty evasion which has been estimated around Rs 3,000 crore.

The total tax evasion together with the bank loans could be higher than the estimated amount.

The scam first came to the light in 2014 when the economic investigation unit of state excise and taxation department found sudden rise in company's turnover.

"All this was done to pocket the exercise duty, sales and income tax benefits as the union government had declared a tax holiday in Himachal to boost industrial growth," a senior Excise Department official told India Today.

State government officials told India Today that the accused Paonta Sahib unit was doing manufacturing activity on papers. This was proven by the power bills as there was a huge difference between the power consumption and the products manufactured.

Investigations have also revealed that the firm owner Dr Rakesh Sharma was a Chartered Accountant who became an industrialist when the then union government led by NDA announced special industrial package for the Himachal Pradesh.

Investigations have also revealed that the firm owner also made son of a retired bureaucrat as one of the directors of his firm to mastermind the tax scam.

The Chairman and Managing Director of the firm Dr Rakesh Sharma, is also accused of money laundering who allegedly provided loans to the industrial units. The money allegedly used in money laundering was amassed by way of sales tax, income tax and excise duty evasion.

Sources said, total sales tax and excise duty liability including the interest which the -accused firm owes to the state has now been calculated around Rs 2500 crore.

The firm had also raised loans from various banks .Though the exact loan amount is not known but the sources estimate it around several hundred crores.

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The state government has now asked the ED to probe the money laundering and income tax evasion allegations.

Sources also said that the accused Dr Rakesh Sharma masterminded the tax scam in connivance with the help of Himachal Pradesh government officials who failed to recover the sales and excise tax amount during the past four years.

Confirming the development Principal Secretary Exercise and Sales Tax department J C Sharma said the case was being reviewed and it will soon be handed over to over to the enforcement directorate for further investigation as the accused firm owner remains elusive from last four years.

Investigation done by India Today revealed that Indian Technomac Company Limited was in production between 2009 to 2015 and failed to deposit the requisite sales, excise and income tax besides defaulting bank loan repayment.

Investigations have also revealed that the accused firm also did not pay the power bills. The wages of the labourers employed were also not paid.

Dr Rakesh Sharma owned industrial unit also failed to repay the loans. The concerned bank had also put the unit assets on auction to recover the loans but the rogue firm based cleverly managed to dispose off its assets. When the issue was highlighted, the state government authorities had managed to seize a part of the assets which has been valued around Rs 300 crore.

The accused firm bosses including Dr Rakesh Sharma were not available for a comment. Sharma has allegedly gone into hiding after the scam came to light.

The accused firm had set up Refined noble alloys manufacturing units in six states under the banner of Indian Technology ,Minerals, Meals Alloys and Chemical (ITCOL Group) in 2008.

The group had properties worth several hundred crores in Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Meghalaya.

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