T Veena, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter, reportedly received Rs 1.72 crore in instalments over three years from Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL). The Income Tax Interim Settlement Board stated the money was given due to her connection with a “prominent person.”
Veena’s firm, Exalogic Solutions, had a deal with CMRL for IT, marketing, and software services. Yet, an income tax investigation revealed no services were rendered, raising concerns. CMRL’s MD, S N Sasidharan Kartha, acknowledged the payments but asserted they were in line with the contract.
The Income Tax Department argued that the Rs 1.72 crore constituted an “illegal transaction” and was paid for undelivered services. A bench including Justices Amrapali Das, Rameshwar Singh, and M Jagadish Babu supported this claim based on solid evidence.
Although the funds were transferred through a bank, the board deemed it an “illegal transaction.” The Income Tax Department’s search in January 2019 uncovered tax evasion through inflated expenses from 2013–14 to 2019–20.
The order was passed in June 2023 on an application by CMRL and Kartha. The raid also uncovered evidence of large unlawful payments to political figures, union leaders, police, officials, and media organizations. The agreements between Veena, Exalogic, and CMRL were seized as well.
The agreements entailed monthly payments of Rs 5 lakh to Veena and Rs 3 lakh to Exalogic. Veena received a total of Rs 1.72 crore, with Rs 55 lakh personally and Rs 1.17 crore for Exalogic. Despite Kartha’s initial statement, the Income Tax Department held its stance on the illegal nature of the payments.
The Interim Settlement Board, governed by the Income Tax Act’s Section 245AA, made an unappealable decision. It considered evidence from both sides before arriving at its verdict.
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