CHENNAI: The income tax department is likely to conclude the
gutka case ex-parte as the accused in the case have not responded to the summons issued to them after seizure of cash and documents — including a diary maintained by gutka baron A V Madhava Rao — from their premises during searches in 2016.
The I-T department is set to confiscate cash and other properties seized during the searches and it would be adjusted against the tax and penalty due from the parties concerned, said an official. It was the I-T department which brought out the gutka scam. The CBI is now probing the involvement of health minister C Vijayabaskar, DGP T K
Rajendran and former Chennai police commissioner S George in the scam.
“During our searches on the offices and residences of Rao and his
associates, we found that they had evaded tax to the tune of Rs 250 crore,” said a senior I-T investigation official.
The diary, which was seized during the searches, exposed the links of many influential VIPs with the gutka dealers. It showed how much money was paid by the dealer to various officials to keep his business going.
“Once the searches were completed, we wrote a letter to then chief secretary as well as then DGP to inform them about our findings. We never asked the government to take action against the people whose names were found in the diary. We also summoned Rao and other people involved in the gutka business. But they kept dodging. Some did not appear. Those who appeared for inquiry, did not respond to our queries,” said the official.
Even as the CBI probe is on, I-T is heading towards closure of its case. “In I-T, we are bothered about the tax evasion and unaccounted income. CBI is probing the corruption angle. As per the I-T Act, we have to complete the case by December 31 this year,” said the official.
The I-T department will raise demand for tax and penalty. “If the assessee needs to pay more tax after confiscation of the seized properties, we will raise further tax demand against Rao,” said the official.
Representative image 
