Under fire from JD(U) for allegedly causing revenue loss by lowering VAT on certain goods six years ago, former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi sought to avoid blame saying the loss had taken place due to defective notification and demanded a CBI probe in the matter.
"The revenue loss had indeed taken place due to issuance of a 'defective' notification by the state government on September 13, 2007 reducing the VAT rate by four per cent on certain goods for which the then Advocate General, P K Shahi, should be held squarely responsible for failure to detect mistakes in the notification during vetting," Modi told reporters.
Alleging that the JD(U) government was trying to frame him in the matter for clearing proposals for reduction of VAT and ordering a probe by five ministers with an alleged mandate to frame him, Modi said if he was responsible for causing loss of revenue, then so was the then AG, presently the Education Minister, and the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar himself, as the final decision was taken by the Cabinet on September 11, 2007.
The former deputy chief minister, who held commercial tax department in then NDA government, demanded a CBI probe or the same by any other central agency in the matter covering the role of Shahi and Kumar as well, so that the truth of the matter could come out.
The senior BJP leader, at the same time, "conceded that mistakes had indeed taken place during drafting of proposal for reduction of VAT on certain goods" which were detected during a probe which found five senior officials responsible for it of which four have retired by now.
Claiming that the mistake was an oversight by the officials, he averred that no action should be taken against any official in this regard.
Modi, at the same time, claimed that the ruling JD(U) was trying to frame him on false charges for causing revenue loss of whatever size due to reduction of VAT rate and dared the state government to go ahead with whatever probe it wants, saying he was not scared as he had committed no wrong.
The revenue loss on account of reduction had VAT rate on certain goods had come to light in a CAG report last year following which the state government had rectified the mistakes and ordered probe in the matter.
The issue surfaced when Congress legislature party leader Sadanand Singh brought a call attention motion in the Assembly seeking a high-level probe into revenue loss to the tune of Rs 50 crore caused to the state government by arbitrary lowering of the VAT on certain goods during the term of Sushil Kumar Modi as the Finance minister.
Paying heed to the senior Congress lawmaker's demand, the state government had ordered a high-level probe in the matter.
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