Ravi had raided major realty firms, gold exporter

IAS officer D K Ravi, as Additional Commissioner of the Commercial Taxes Department (Enforcement), had conducted raids on prominent realty firms and a gold exporter for suspected tax evasion, a few weeks before his death.

The raids on leading realty companies hit the headlines and Ravi was collecting data on major housing projects in the City.

Earlier, during his stint as deputy commissioner of Kolar, Ravi had tightened vigilance to prevent illegal sand mining and illegal transportation of water. The people of Kolar recall his stringent action against encroachers of government land.

After his stint in Kolar, Ravi was posted to the Commercial Taxes Department. One of the
first raids conducted by the department after Ravi took over as additional commissioner was on Shubh Jewellers, a franchisee of Rajesh Exports Limited, on December 19, 2014.

The officials raided 67 branches of Shubh Jewellers across the State for suspected tax evasion in the sale of jewellery and in gold export.

A team of more than 50 officials, led by Ravi, raided the shops and establishments in and around Gandhinagar in the City on January 21, 2015. The raids targeted shops selling electronic gadgets and readymade garments on tax evasion.

In February, Ravi led a series of raids on realty majors, including Nitesh Estates Limited, Assetz, Golden Gate Properties, Elegant and Pebble Bay.

“He was briefed on suspected tax evasion of value added tax by real estate developers in the City. A report was prepared that in several housing projects, real estate companies had been evading VAT of 14.5 per cent. Following this, he has directed the officials of the Enforcement wing to prepare a report on the projects already completed and those still under way,” an officer said.

The officials had issued a notice to Assetz to pay Rs 30 crore as tax liability. Similarly, Nitesh was served notice to pay tax liability of Rs 10 crore. Realty firm Elegant was also noticed to pay tax liability of Rs 8.5 crore. The real estate firms refuted the claims by the Commercial Taxes Department stating that the officials had been raiding without serving demand notice.

Major raids

December 19, 2014: 67 premises of Shubh Jewellers, franchisee of Rajesh Exports Limited, across the State for alleged tax evasion.

January 21, 2015: Raids on shops selling electronic gadgets and garments in and around Gandhinagar.

February 21, 2015: Raids on Nitesh Estates Limited on M G Road for tax evasion in two housing projects – Nitesh Forest Hills and Nitesh Flushing Meadows.

March 7, 2015:  Raids on 15 premises of Assetz, a realty major. The tax officials served notice to the firm for tax evasion in various projects .

opposition voices

The chief minister has accused opposition of making parents of Ravi stage a protest in front of Vidhana Soudha in order to politicise the issue. I want to ask why the Congress played politics by inviting Ravi’s father-in-law to join the protest: H D Kumaraswamy
JD(S) leader

The chief minister has made an unnecessary statement and insinuated that the BJP has been spreading rumours about Ravi and his death. We also demand the resignation of Home Minister K J George: K S Eshwarappa BJP leader