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Revenue misappropriation: CIAA summons TSC chairman, member
The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has summoned Tax Settlement Commission (TSC) Chairman LD Mahat and member Umesh Dhakal as part of its investigation into tax exemption to various organisations.Prithvi Man Shrestha
The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has summoned Tax Settlement Commission (TSC) Chairman LD Mahat and member Umesh Dhakal as part of its investigation into tax exemption to various organisations.
The anti-graft agency has asked Mahat and Dhakal to appear before its headquarters on Wednesday.
Summons to both officials were dispatched on Sunday, said CIAA officials, adding that both of them, however, “are out of contact”.
“Mahat is currently out of the country for ‘treatment’ while we handed the letter to Dhakal’s family as we were told he was not at home,” a CIAA official said.
According to officials, the summons are meant for seeking their statements. “But if they fail to appear before the CIAA, we will issue an arrest warrant,” said the source.
The summons to Mahat and Dhakal follow the arrest of Chudamani Sharma, director general of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), on June 2 on charge of misappropriating revenue and settling taxes in a dubious way.
During interrogation of Sharma, the anti-graft agency, according to an official, found that nearly Rs 800 million was misappropriated. Sharma was a member of the TSC before he was transferred to the IRD three years ago.
“Until Sunday, investigation into 87 files—out of around 1,000 received from IRD—has been completed,” said the CIAA source. “The ongoing investigation gives us the sense that this could be the biggest financial fraud committed in the country ever,” added the source.
The TSC, formed in February 2015 by former Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat, had run into controversy after a report of the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) in April called into question the Rs 21 billion tax exemption granted to various enterprises.