Toll collecting firm under scanner for evading stamp duty worth Rs 63 cr
Lucknow: A private company engaged in collecting toll on the national highway in eastern UP is under scrutiny for duping the local administration to the tune of crores. The fraudulent activity was detected more than two years after the private entity was awarded the contract for collecting the toll.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
According to officials, a company engaged to collect money from motor vehicle owners for using the national highway stretch in Bhadohi did not pay the required stamp duty to the local administration. Roped in to manage the toll plaza over national highway 19, which connects eastern UP with Bihar and onwards, the company was supposed to pay a sum of about Rs 63 crore to the stamp and registration department as duty.
The charges were incurred for taking the land on a 15-year-long lease to collect the toll from road users. The agreement was signed between the stakeholders in March 2023, said officials. However, it was later detected that only Rs 100 was paid as stamp duty to the state coffers.
According to the officials, a complaint case has been filed before the local magistrate to initiate action and prosecute the offenders.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
2 coaches get jail terms for sexual assault on judo players
1 2 Meerut/Bareilly: Courts in Meerut and Moradabad sentenced two judo coaches to prison for sexually assaulting minor trainees, including a national-level judoka, in separate incidents that took place in 2017 and 2023. Manish alias Max, 26, received a life sentence for raping a 10-year-old national judo player in Meerut, special public prosecutor Kuldeep Mohan said. Additional district judge Sangeeta also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on him. Special public prosecutor Avkash Jain told TOI, "The convict violated the girl in the guard room while her brother and fellow players were asked to practise. After the crime, the minor bled profusely, and Max, in a cynical attempt to conceal his crime, staged a drama; he told the minor's parents that she sustained a severe injury during practice." Jain added, "Believing the convict's theory, the minor was rushed to a medical facility and underwent treatment in three different hospitals, and after eight days, she secretly wrote her ordeal on a paper, which somehow reached her father." In a separate case, special Pocso judge Ghanendra Kumar sentenced Mohd Qasim Ali, 46, to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy in Moradabad. The convict was also fined Rs 60,000 and taken into judicial custody immediately after the court order. Additional district govt counsel Manoj Gupta said, "The incident occurred on Sept 9, 2017, when the boy was in his school where the convict was appointed as judo coach. Mohd Qasim took the boy to the forest on the pretext of judo training, where he forcefully sodomised him. The boy narrated his ordeal to his family upon returning home." Gupta added, "The submitted medical examination report to the court confirmed the assault. Additionally, the statement of the survivor and the circumstantial evidence helped in nailing the accused." The chargesheet was submitted in court, and the judge expedited the trial.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
‘Interest on refund is like compensation in consumer disputes'
New Delhi: The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), while holding builders liable for deficiency in service, observed that in consumer cases, awarding interest along with a refund serves as a form of compensation. The commission's bench of Justice Sudip Ahluwalia and Sadhna Shanker was hearing an appeal filed by a builder against the orders of a state commission. The state commission had found the builder's service deficient and directed a refund of Rs 34,27,747 with 12% interest, Rs 1 lakh as compensation, and Rs 11,000 as litigation costs to the complainant. On June 16, NCDRC modified the state commission's order based on legal precedents. It set aside the Rs 1 lakh compensation but increased the litigation costs from Rs 11,000 to Rs 40,000. In 2011, the complainants booked a flat in a project by Barnala Builders on the Chandigarh-Ambala Highway after seeing advertisements that claimed it was fully developed and clear of legal issues. They paid a large portion of the price, but the builder did not provide the buyer's agreement at first. Later, the builder gave them an agreement with many unexpected and unfair terms. The complainants also received several arbitrary service tax demands without a proper explanation. Despite paying over Rs 34 lakh, they were only given a paper possession letter, while actual development, utility connections, and statutory certificates were still missing. They asked for a refund, but the builder only threatened forfeiture. They filed a complaint before the state commission of Punjab in 2014. The commission in 2016 held that the builder had been deficient in service and ordered a refund of Rs 34,27,747 with 12% interest, Rs 1 lakh compensation, and Rs 11,000 as litigation costs. Aggrieved, the builder filed an appeal before the National Commission. The national commission reaffirmed that in consumer cases, giving interest and a refund is a kind of compensation.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Corpn can't tax railway property: HC
Madurai: Article 285(1) of the Constitution indicates that the property of the Union shall be exempt from all taxes imposed by a state, even if it is put to commercial use, observed Madras high court . The court set aside a single bench order dismissing a plea moved by Madurai Multi Functional Complex Private Limited challenging the demand notice issued by Madurai corporation seeking payment of property tax. The land in Madurai belongs to railways. To develop vacant land parcels owned by railways, The Railways Act, 1989, was amended and Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) was constituted. In 2013, RLDA and Ircon Infrastructure and Services Limited entered into an agreement for development of railway land throughout India. Subsequently, Ircon entered into a sub-lease agreement for 30 years with Madurai Multi Functional Complex Private Limited concerning the property in Madurai. The Multi Functional Complex was constructed by Ircon on a 2,700 sq metre plot within Madurai railway station premises. Madurai corporation assessed the building for property tax and issued a demand notice in 2018, calling upon Madurai Multi Functional Complex Private Limited to pay half-yearly tax of Rs 10,07,623. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 오스템 임플란트 받아가세요 임플란터 더 알아보기 Undo Though a petition was filed challenging the demand notice, it was dismissed by the single judge. Therefore, Madurai Multi Functional Complex Private Limited (appellant) preferred the present appeal in 2020. A division bench of Justice G R Swaminathan and Justice M Jothiraman observed that the plain language of Article 285(1) of the Constitution indicates that the property of the Union shall be exempt from all taxes imposed by a state or by any authority within a state. "Article 285(1) stands as an iron dome which cannot be breached. Property of the Union of all kinds and hues can take shelter within it," the judges observed. The judges noted that RLDA is an alter-ego of the railways which cannot hold properties in its name. "Therefore, we hold that the petition mentioned building belongs to railways. The title over the building vests with the railways," they said. Hence, the judges held that the levy of property tax over the appellant-building would fall foul of Article 285(1) of the Constitution and set aside the order of the single bench. However, the judges made it clear that since the appellant is enjoying certain facilities offered by the Madurai corporation, it is open to the corporation to enter into a special agreement with the appellant to enable the petitioner to continue to enjoy those facilities. Since the appellant-building forms a class by itself, it is open to the corporation to charge a higher drainage tax. The corporation will issue notice to the appellant and other occupiers of the building to come for negotiation and enter into an appropriate agreement in this regard, the judges observed.
