Decorators of Chiplun wedding on radar of Service Tax Dept

The decorators engaged by Maharashtra Minister Bhaskar Jadhav for the wedding of his children -- which landed him in a controversy because of the lavishness -- are on the radar of Service Tax Department.

The authorities would soon issue summons to the decorators, seeking to know whether they paid the service tax, sources here said.

Service Tax Department on Wednesday carried out searches at seven premises of D G Decorators here, while Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence carried out a search at four premises of a Karad-based businessman who is close to Jadhav.

"The searches are over...now we will go through the records that we have taken from them and we will issue summons to them to see if the taxes were evaded," said a source.

Earlier, Income Tax authorities had carried out searches at Jadhav's house and hotels and recorded his statement.

The officials have said that even those who provided flowers and who constructed helipads would be asked if they had paid the service tax. According to reports, 22 helipads were constructed for the guests who landed in Chiplun for the wedding. The guest list included who's who of Maharashtra politics.

The lavish wedding became especially controversial because large parts of Maharashtra are currently reeling under a drought.

Jadhav, an NCP leader, is currently the Minister of State for Urban Development.