In 2017-18, JNTU had surplus income of Rs 60 crore

Hyderabad: The Income-tax department has slapped a prosecution notice on Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, for not filing tax returns since its inception.

Also, JNTU, which offers a technology-based course, has not computerised its financial statement and continues to operate through manual records. A question looms large on where the surplus money is being stacked.

An inquiry into the I-T returns reveals that these universities are not substantially funded by the government nor are their financial records audited against the I-T act. The exact income and expenditure are unavailable.

It is learnt that the universities were informed about non-filing of I-T return in 2018. Even then JNTU has not responded to the I-T department.

“A survey conducted in 2019 found that JNTU’s income in 2017-18 was around Rs 330 crore and expenditure around Rs 250 crore,” said a source. “There was a surplus of '70 crore and yet the university did not file income-tax returns.

The same is the case with Kakatiya University. It had a surplus of '8 crore in 2016-17. It is surprising to note that, since the university is a service-based body, they can apply for tax exemption under Section 139 (4) (C) and 139 (4) (A) of I-T act. But neither have they applied for tax exemption nor have they filed I-T returns.” Since the two universities are appraised for their tax liability, the management has been asked to pay resultant taxes by March 2019, failing which they can face prosecution.

When contacted, an officer at JNTU said: “The management has asked for tax exemption for the previous years. The university has sought some time for filing of all I-T returns.”

While private educational institutes obtain I-T exemption by using legal provisions, state-run universities charge less fee but end up paying taxes as they do not seek exemption.

A survey found that JNTU had surplus income of about Rs 70 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 60 crore in 2017-18 but it did not file returns.