Commercial taxes scam: Corrupt officials opt for AP, Telangana government pursues
Hyderabad: The TS government is determined to bring officials involved in commercial taxes scam to book, though some are now working for the AP government. The scam surfaced in Bodhan in Nizamabad district in early 2016, following which Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao ordered a CID inquiry into the issue.
In its report submitted to the TS government recently, the CID said its inquiry revealed that 26 officials were involved in the scam and recommended action against them. However, it was found that some of these officials had secured postings in AP by opting to work for the AP government when Kamalnathan Committee took up the exercise of bifurcation of employees in 2016.
The TS government feels that the employees involved in the scam opted to work for the AP government to avoid punishment. Mr Rao, who handles the commercial taxes portfolio, took serious view of the scam and ordered the secretary of the department to suspend the officials found by the CID to have been involved in the scam, and initiate disciplinary proceedings against them.
When the issue of some officials shifting to AP was brought to his notice, Mr Rao directed senior officials to consult the AP government and seek its permission to book cases against them. The CID inquiry found that some officials colluded with private tax consultants and traders to siphon off Rs 300 crore of the tax amount paid by traders. They issued fake tax payment challans and adjusted the amount paid by genuine taxpayers in the name of tax evaders in lieu of bribes to help them evade taxes.
The CID found that the scam was going on since 2004 but came to light after commercial taxes department conducted tax audit in 2016. Over Rs 300 crore was found to be siphoned off for 11 years. However, the money could not be traced with officials themselves colluding with tax evaders and private tax consultants. Three officials changed state-cadre while other two remain untraced ever since the scam broke.
