The Bombay High Court recently came to the aid of the Petitioner, who, as an informer since 1992, has been submitting information to the Sales Tax Department regarding tax evaders. The Court therefore directed the Department to pay him as per the Reward Scheme introduced by the State Government, for assisting in tax evasion recovery. This direction came in the wake of the reward claimed by the petitioner by relying upon the circular/resolution dated 01 January 1976, which he was entitled to, regarding the sale tax recoveries made based on information provided by him.
The Division Bench comprising Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Jitendra Jain observed that once the officers of the rank of Joint Commissioner, with the approval of the Commissioner of Sales Tax, Maharashtra, have decided the amount of Rs. 19.44 lakhs as payable to the petitioner as a reward, then there is no basis for the respondents to retract and refuse payment, which has been determined by them.
While emphasizing the fair and transparent implementation of the reward scheme formulated by the Government, the Bench observed that those informers who take risks and invest time must not be made to run from pillar to post to secure what may be due and payable. The Bench underscored that there should be neither unreasonable delay in paying the determined reward amounts, nor should there be a practice of raising frivolous and belated objections only to avoid legitimate payments.
In this case, despite the petitioner providing information that indicated tax evasion or even tax fraud, the respondents did not disclose full details about the action initiated and the recoveries made based on the petitioner’s complaints. Only after finding through the RTI Act that substantial tax recoveries were made following his complaints, and the rewards were rejected for no apparent reason, the petitioner approached the High Court.
The Court found several lapses on the part of the Department, as the orders passed by the division bench previously during January 20, 2015, for the processing of rewards requested by the petitioner, have still not been complied with and it’s been more than ten years, the petitioner is made to run from pillar to post for his legitimate claim. The Court found that the respondents were neither serious about recovering the dues from the tax evaders, nor informing the Court, nor determining the reward amount payable to the petitioner in terms of the Government Circular/Resolution.
Therefore, the Court answered in favour of the petitioner and directed that respondents must pay the determined amount to the petitioner, and at the same time clarified that non-payment within six weeks from the date of this order would attract interest at 8% per annum. This interest was directed to be recovered from the officers responsible for the delay.
Appearances:
Petitioner: Advocates D. S. Sakhalkar with Himanshu Thakur
Respondents: Advocate Neeta V. Masurkar, for Respondent Nos. 1 and 4; and
AGP Himanshu Takke, for the Respondent Nos. 2 and 3.
