New Delhi, Apr 1:
The Income Tax department has attached a house of hardline Kashmiri separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani located in Delhi in connection with an over Rs 3.62 crore tax evasion case against him. The flat is located in south Delhi’s Khirki Extension locality in Malviya Nagar. A Tax Recovery Officer (TRO) of the department sealed the house as Geelani allegedly failed to pay Rs 3,62,62,160 income tax for assessment years 1996-97 to 2001-02, said an order accessed by PTI. The department has undertaken the action under section 222 of the I-T Act (assessee deemed in default of tax payment) and “prohibited and restrained” the Hurriyat Conference leader from transferring the asset. An order was issued on March 29 by the department. TRO is the enforcement action taking arm of the tax department and deals with cases of wilful defaulters. The authority is empowered to attach an asset and subsequently auction it to realise the tax dues. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), last month, levied a penalty of Rs 14.40 lakh on Geelani in a 17-year-old case of illegal possession of USD 10,000 in alleged contravention of foreign exchange law. The foreign currency, equivalent to about Rs 6.90 lakh, had also been confiscated by the ED as part of an order issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) on March 20. This currency was seized during an Income Tax raid at Geelani’s residence in Srinagar’s Hyderpora area in 2002.
