Income Tax – Rs. 42,000 Bribe for a Refund of Rs. 90,000
THE Bribe barometer has gone beyond the Mercury levels. A greedy Tax Assistant of the Income Tax Department demanded a bribe of Rs 42,000 to provide a refund of Rs 90,000 to a businessman. The amount of bribe was of course negotiable and finally settled at a reasonable figure of Rs. 20,000. A first installment of Rs. 6000 was negotiated – only the enterprising babu did not visualize the possibility of an inconvenient CBI. The CBI laid a trap and caught him red handed.
What is paltry sum of Rs. 6000 compared to the 1.7 Lakh Crores in the telecom scam, is the view of many who sympathise with the poor tax assistant!