Harbhajan, Service Tax and the Great Indian News Service
IF cricketers, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh happen to read the news in the Indian Media, they would rather stay back in South Africa rather than return to India. Yesterday NDTV reported that Harbhajan is likely to be prosecuted – maybe Service Tax officers will be waiting at the airport with handcuffs!
Today the Economic Times, one of the most respected pink papers, reported, “India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been caught on a wrong foot for not paying service tax on his income ”.
The Paper also reported that, “the central excise department (Chandigarh region) had also slapped a fine of Rs. 15 million (Rs.1.5 crore) on another Punjab cricketer, Yuvraj Singh.”
Unfortunately the reporters of the top newspapers and channels have absolutely no idea of tax and what they report is taken as the gospel truth by many.
These cricketers are playing for the Nation in far away South Africa and there was absolutely no need to tarnish their names with this alleged Service Tax evasion. If somebody has not paid Service Tax, there is a way to collect the tax and it is certainly not by leaking news to the media – especially to that section of the media which does not understand your laws and flaws!
Answering a question in Parliament, the then Finance Minister Chidambaram said, “I think, onemust be careful before branding somebody finally as a tax evader.There is a hierarchy of Tribunals and Courts and only when the last forum is exhausted, we come to a final conclusion, one can say that there is a final evasion of tax.”
The names of our cricketers were apparently leaked to the Press by the Department, which should be more concerned with Revenue than publicity.