IT dept slaps over Rs 1,000 cr notice on DLF

The income tax authorities of Haryana have recently detected non-payment of taxes worth over Rs 1,000 crore by the DLF Group of Companies, headquartered at Gurgaon.

According to information the DLF Group of Companies had earned Rs 2,500 crore as income from leasing out the SEZ (special economic zone) properties in Gurgaon and Chennai during financial year 2008-2009, but had not paid any taxes on the same.

The IT authorities after examining the tax returns filed by the said companies, namely, DLF Infocity Developers Ltd, Chennai and DLF Cybercity Developers Ltd, Gurgaon, rejected the companies’ claims of exemption sought under provisions of IT Act, 1961 or SEZ Act. Subsequently, the department in its judgement issued recently held that taxes were to be paid on such incomes earned as short term capital gains by the DLF Group of Companies as this money had been earned from the transfer or the sale of the SEZ properties.

The IT authorities also held that neither IT Tax Act nor SEZ Act provisions provided for any exemption on such incomes on the sale of SEZ assets and thus the DLF Group of Companies was liable to pay taxes to the tune of Rs 750 crore, excluding interest on the same, totaling over Rs 1,000 crore, which had not been paid by them.

The companies had treated the said income as exempted under the provisions of the said Acts but its claim in the context was rejected by the IT authorities which had now sent a notice to the company to cough up the same.