ABC Vs Union of India (Gujarat High Court)
The Gujarat High Court dismissed a writ petition seeking enhancement of an informant reward granted under the CBDT Guidelines for Grant of Rewards to Informants, 2007, holding that it could not interfere with the calculation made by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) unless the determination was manifestly illegal or patently arbitrary.
The petitioner, a real estate consultant, had provided information to the Income Tax Department regarding alleged tax evasion by the Sheladia Group in connection with land purchases involving cash payments. Based on the information, the Department conducted a search on 14 December 2010. The petitioner claimed that the search resulted in disclosure of ₹60.48 crore and seizure of ₹1.5 crore in cash. Initially, the petitioner received an interim reward of ₹1 lakh and a further reward of ₹14 lakh. Following an earlier writ petition, the High Court directed the authorities to take a final decision because the tax collection exceeded ₹5 crore. Thereafter, the CBDT reconsidered the matter and determined the final reward at ₹17,51,484, resulting in payment of an additional ₹2,51,484 to the petitioner. Dissatisfied, the petitioner sought enhancement of the reward, contending that the recommending authority had proposed ₹44.55 lakh, representing 5.48% of ₹8.12 crore, and relied upon a Supreme Court judgment in support of the claim.
