The cup of woes for B Ramalinga Raju seemed to be full as income tax officials drove down to the Chanchalguda jail on Thursday and served a notice on him for evading taxes.
According to sources, the former Satyam chief refused to accept the summons without consulting his lawyer first. However, he relented after the IT officials explained to him that acceptance of the notice would not betantamount to guilt.
The summons were served under section 131 of the Income Tax Act which empowers officials to examine the person under an oath and `compelling the production of books of account and other documents.’ The summons are the first step in the investigation procedure, I-T sources said. “Very soon, the I-T department will also move a petition in the court seeking permission to record a statement from Ramalinga Raju on the Satyam fraud,” an official said.
To gather details on the software export statistics of Satyam, the IT department has also written to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking the Software Exports Declaration (SOFTEX) forms issued by the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) to Satyam. The department has also written to various banks that have dealings with Satyam to send the bank reconciliation statements of the IT major.
