IT department seizes 2 bank accounts of Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for nonpayment of taxes

Navjot Singh Sidhu, former cricketer and a minister in Punjab's Amarinder Singh government, has fallen in the net of the Income Tax (I-T) department which has seized two of his bank accounts for non-payment of taxes.

The I-T department sealed his bank accounts as he had failed to present bills of the expenditure shown in his tax returns filed for the assessment year 2014-15. 

According to a report by ANI, the cricketer-turned-politician's tax dues stand at Rs 52 lakh, payments were to be made towards dress expenses (Rs 28,38,405), tour and traveling expenses (Rs 38,24,282), salary expense (Rs 47,11,400) and petrol and diesel expenses (Rs 17,80,358).

The I-T department noted that Sidhu had failed to provide documentary evidence, such as bills or invoices in support of his claim during the course of assessment proceedings. Since the authenticity of the transactions could not be established, 30% of the total expenses were disallowed in order to prevent leakage of revenue.

“The assessee had gone in to appeal against the order on January 17 last year, but the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) or CIT (A) passed the order favouring the revenue and not provided any relief to the assessee, as he had failed to provide any documentary evidence in support of his claim,” an official statement noted.

Sidhu was issued three notices by the IT department before action was taken against him. But Sidhu insisted that he had diligently been filing his returns for the past ten years and he had never defaulted on the same, according to a report by the New Indian Express.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is hearing a plea filed by Sidhu in three decades old road rage case in which Punjab and Haryana High Court sentenced him and co-accused Rupinder Singh Sandhu to three years in jail.

(With ANI inputs)