Hyderabad: Pre-emptive “strikes” by the income-tax department which is in hot pursuit of industrialists, businessmen and potential tax evaders to pay their taxes before March 31, have made the department richer by close to Rs 390 crore within just 48 hours.
Pursued by tax officials, two major firms paid advance taxes of Rs 250 crore and over Rs 138 crore respectively during the last two days even as the I-T department is continuing with its searches and surveys.
The tax officers expect to collect a few thousand crores more before the March 31 deadline.
On March 14, this newspaper had reported that the Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh would be witnessing a surge in income-tax raids, surveys and searches till March 31 as tax officers are racing against time to achieve the target of Rs 60,845 crore set for the Hyderabad I-T region (which includes both Telugu states) by the Union finance ministry. Sources in the I-T department told this newspaper that advance tax of Rs 250 crore was paid by New York-based KKR Private Equity, a global investment firm.
The advance tax was paid in two instalments of Rs 190 crore and Rs 60 crore in the last two days.
KKR Private Equity, which has 20 offices across 16 countries, is into infrastructure, real estate, credit, energy among other areas. Last year, the company had acquired a 60-per cent stake in Hyderabad-based environmental services provider Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited for about $530 million.
This was one of the largest private equity buyouts in India.
“The company had huge cash flow issues and the I-T department was pursuing the company after which they paid up Rs 250 crore,” sources said.
In the second case, sources said that Rs 138.03 crore was paid by the shareholders on the capital gains they derived as part of offloading their equity in Oakridge School. Oakridge School was taken over by the Hong Kong-based school chain Nord Anglia Education Inc by acquiring People Combine Education India Initiative Limited Schools under the Oakridge International brand recently.
Owned by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Baring Private Equity Asia, Nord Anglia had acquired five Oakridge K-12 schools. The deal was reported to be around Rs 1,400 crore.
The total net collection in the I-T Hyderabad region stood at Rs 46,551 crore till March 12 for the financial year 2018-19.
