PUDUCHERRY: An offence involving tax liability of over `190 crore (through tax evasion by petroleum dealers) due to the Commercial Tax (CT) Department and attracts imprisonment upto seven years should be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation, said a petition addressed to the chairman of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Legislative Assembly on Monday. The petition was submitted by N Gadjindirin Baskaran,ex-Member of Reservation Implementation Committee for SC and ST, Government of India (GOI) and member, Dr Ambedkar Centenary Celebration Committee, GOI.The petitioner urged the PAC to take into consideration the fact that the CT Department had revised the assessment of petroleum dealers only for the past five years (as per the limitation in the Sales Tax Act). Considering the quantum of tax evasion for this short period, it requires a thorough probe. Though the Sales Tax Act is applicable for assessment or revision of assessments for five years, there is no limitation of time for criminal liability, the petition said.The CT Department is not competent when it comes to handling a crime of this magnitude, he said. There is a genuine apprehension that the amount of evasion detected so far is only the tip of the iceberg and therefore requires a CBI inquiry.
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