Now, commercial tax dept tracks mining transactions

Information is being collected with regard to the transactions of more than 100 miners and more than 2,000 agencies engaged in mining in Hospet division in the last five years.
The Commercial Tax officials are collecting information regarding payment of tax by these companies, department sources said. The staff have been searching for files to ascertain whether the companies have defaulted on payment of taxes.

Eight teams
The officials, who have arrived from Bangalore, have been divided into eight teams and they are collecting the details during their visits to the mining areas and the ore stockyards. The teams are also collecting the necessary documents from the departments of Forest, Mines and Geology, Income Tax, Railways and Customs.

The Commercial Tax department has written to more than 75 banks, asking them to provide complete details of transactions of the mining companies and ore transport agencies in the last five years.

The assessment has been taken up in the wake of the Lokayukta report, the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee and the CBI seeking details in this regard.

Department sources said that the report has to be submitted within one month. Details of payment of taxes are being collected by visiting the houses and offices of the mine owners and ore transport agencies.

Separate teams of the department have panned out to the Belekeri and other ports to ascertain the quantity of ore exported.

However, they are seeking more time to provide details. An official of the Commercial Tax department said all the information is expected to be collected in a couple of days. The  ‘e-sugama’ and e-suvega’ projects implemented by the department facilitates tracking down payment/evasion of entry tax.