I-T slaps fresh demand of Rs2,113 crore on Satyam

Satyam Computer’s troubles just don’t seem to end.

In the latest blow, the income-tax department has raised a fresh demand of about Rs2,113 crore on the company towards tax for assessment years 2002-03 and 2007-08.

“The company has received from the additional commissioner of income tax, draft of proposed assessment orders together with draft notices of demand under the Income Tax Act, 1961, for Rs1,037.69 crore and Rs1,075.73 crore for assessment years 2002-03 and 2007-08 respectively,” the company said in a filing with the stock exchanges.

These notices are said to be over and above the notices issued in March this year for a Rs616 crore tax demand related to the foreign tax credit during the regime of Satyam’s tainted founder B Ramalinga Raju, which the company has been fighting out in the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

Though the company is still awaiting a formal demand from the I-T department, company sources said preparation is already on for challenging the notices by approaching the appellate tribunal.

The company seems to be preparing to reiterate its earlier argument that the income shown by the earlier management has been proved to be fictitious by the investigations carried out by various agencies apart from investigations by the new management of the company. Hence, levying tax on fictitious income would not hold much water.

The income tax department last year served a notice on Mahindra Satyam demanding an audit of its accounts for the assessment years as the company was found guilty of illegally claiming tax credits on fictitious income during the 2003-04 to 2008-09 periods.

“The company has in several writ petitions filed before the Hon’ble High Court of Andhra Pradesh inter-alia challenged the re-opening of the assessment for AY 2002-03 and sought directions that fresh assessments should be carried out after removing the fictitious sales and fictitious interest,” Satyam said.