I-T dept names 18 defaulters owing Rs 1,150 cr

Stepping up its ‘name and shame’ campaign, the Income Tax department of India on Wednesday made public a third list of 18 tax defaulters including gold and diamond traders whose dues totalled around Rs 1,150 crore. The IT department’s public notice containing the names of the 18 defaulters who have either gone untraceable or have inadequate assets to pay is the third such list this year after names of 49 defaulters with a tax liability of over Rs 2,000 crore were earlier released in two installments.

The list has been compiled by the department and issued by the Finance Ministry in leading national newspapers carrying names of the defaulting individuals or entities, their last known addresses, PAN numbers, amount of arrears, last known source of income and the assessment years for which they have not paid their due taxes.

A whopping Rs 779.04 crore default of income/corporate tax has been reflected in the name of one Mumbai-based Uday M Acharya (late) and his legal heirs Amul Acharya and Bhavana Acharya. A number of defaulters whose names have been put in the public domain on Wednesday, under the ‘naming and shaming’ policy adopted by the taxman early this year, have their last source of income shown from the trade of jewellery, diamonds and gold.