The Income Tax Department (ITD) today said that it had issued notices to former Sebi chairman C B Bhave to furnish information in support of his return filed for the 2009-10 assessment year. The ITD has also initiated enquiry against two serving members of the Security and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), said a CBDT release.

Gujarat High Court has issued notices to the Union Ministry of Finance and the Income Tax department in response to petitions by two companies of Adani Group, challenging the imposition of Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) through an amendment in the Finance Act, 2011. The notices were issued yesterday by the division bench of Chief Justice S J Mukhopadhaya and Justice J B Pardiwala while hearing the petitions by Mundra Port Special Economic Zone Ltd (MPSEZL) and Adani Power Ltd (APL). Next hearing is scheduled for July 8.

The Supreme Court on Thursday said no person, irrespective of their chair or wealth, would be spared in the 2G telecom spectrum scam investigations and slammed the Income Tax (I-T) Department for the slow probe against corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and others for alleged tax evasion in the case.

The Income Tax (I-T) department has got disclosures of Rs 30 crore from two companies. IT officials initiated search and survey operation with around 200 officials on four city-based groups on Wednesday. While three of the groups have real estate as their core business, the fourth group is popular city-based jeweller and has huge investments in realty business. The department has also seized Rs 60 lakh from the two groups each of which have declared Rs 15 crore unaccounted income.

“I-T department will review the property deals in Delhi and take action in appropriate cases,” Central Board of Direct Taxes chairman Sudhir Chandra told reporters here, adding that these reviews will include both individual and corporates property deals in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR – Noida, Gurgaon).

After having made 8.23 lakh refunds already in the first half of this month, the Income Tax Department on Monday said it will settle all the pending claims in April itself. Refunds of Rs 78,000 crore to about 85 lakh assesses were made in 2010-11. In the first half of April, the I-T Department refunded Rs 6,183 crore to 8,23,101 assesses, Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Sudhir Chandra told reporters here.

CBDT has also lauded the Mumbai IT department on April 19, which released a book aimed at plugging tax avoidance or evasion techniques by India Inc. The CBDT has further indicated that pending corporate refunds are no longer a matter of concern.

The Supreme Court today directed UK-based telecom major Vodafone to appear before the Income Tax Department which had instructed the company to pay penalty in the USD 2 billion tax case relating to the telecom major’s stake purchase in Hutchison-Essar. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia asked the company to file its representation before the IT department.

Five crore commemorative coins of Rs 5 denomination, unveiled recently to celebrate 150 years of taxation, will be minted for public distribution soon. The coins, released by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on February 26, will be put in public domain and will be a collector’s item. These will have no extra price, a senior Finance Ministry official said. The special coin was unveiled along with a coin in the denomination of Rs 150 on the occasion of completion of 150 years of taxation and also of the Income Tax department from 1860 to 2010.

The Finance Ministry will conduct a study on the modus operandi of concealment of blackmoney in the country by major business and public sectors and other channels. The study report will be based on the investigation and intelligence reports of the Income Tax department which conducts nation-wide searches and raids in the country to unearth tax evasion and flow of blackmoney. The I-T orders and tax demand notices which were raised after such searches will form a part of this report which will have both public and restricted versions. These will be put in public and departmental domain respectively, a senior Finance Ministry official said.