Ahmedabad: A property dealer who approached the Income Tax department with a disclosure of a whopping Rs 13,680 crore minutes before the voluntary declaration scheme lapsed on September 30 has now gone missing, according to his chartered accountant.
Mahesh Shah, 67, originally hails from Ahmedabad but has business dealings in Mumbai and other cities of Maharashtra. He has been untraceable and searches at his houses and business premises have proven to be futile so far.
After the government announced the Income Declaration Scheme 2016, Shah approached Chartered Accountancy firm Apaji Amin’s partner Tehmul Shethna and inquired about the scheme. Shah has been known to the firm’s partners since 2013.
The IDS scheme was opened on June 1 and closed on September 30. Shah made the disclosure of income worth Rs 13,680 crore at 11:55 pm at the Income Tax office in Ahmedabad – five minutes before the scheme closed.
According to Shethna, Shah approached him and said that he wanted peace of mind and hence wanted to disclose all his income: Rs 13,680 crore in cash.
This did not include the properties that he owns in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and other cities of Maharashtra, according to Shethna. Shah then met top Income Tax department officials who even agreed to lift cash from Shah’s residence since the amount was huge. All the secrecy clauses and other formalities were explained to Shah by officials.
As per provisions of the Income Declaration Scheme, Shah was expected to make a payment of the first installment of Rs 1,560 crore (which is 25% of the 45% tax on income declared) by November 30. However, Shah failed to make the payment.
The I-T department then carried out searches at the residences and business premises of not just Shah and his relatives and business partners, but also at the office and residence of Shethna.
Shethna says that even as searches were being carried out at by the I-T department at various locations on November 29, Shah was in touch with him throughout the day. “Till about 7 pm he was in touch with me over the phone. After that, he switched off his phone and I have not been able to make contact with him since,” he said.
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