The City Corporation has decided to initiate revenue recovery proceedings against IT giant Infosys for evading tax.
It is learnt that Bengaluru -based IT company Infosys owes tax arrears to the tune of `1 crore to the civic body.
However, even after several notices issued by the revenue department, the company has refused to pay tax to the cash-strapped civic body, claiming exemption for their operations in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
Finance standing committee chairman and deputy mayor G. Happy Kumar said that the civic body will soon issue a closure notice to Infosys.
“These companies are multi-national giants with a huge annual turnover and the civic body cannot provide tax exemption on any grounds.
This is as per the Kerala Municipal Act. Hence we have decided to issue a closure notice. Subsequently we will initiate revenue recovery proceedings against the company,” said G. Happy Kumar.
The authorities said that if it needs exemption, the company has to produce an official order from the state government.
Meanwhile, the company has approac-hed the state government and Technopark management to intervene and pass orders to roll back the property tax imposed on them by the Corporation. The other companies in the defaulter’s list include IBS, UST Global and TCS.
“As per Local Self Government Department notification issued in 2004, the government has exempted SEZ’s from paying property tax as empowered under the Panchayat Raj Act.
We have given a representation to the government. In fact we come under the Cochin Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) and we don’t have to pay property tax,” asserted a senior official of Infosys.
Tax appeal committee chairman P Shyam Kumar said that the notification is applicable only to the Panchayat and not to SEZs set up in the Corporation area.
“We have collected tax from the assembly complex and hospitals and this is how municipalities and corporations raise money. They are bound to pay tax,” said Shyam Kumar.