We didn’t harass Amitabh in the hospital - CBDT
The Government has clarified that CBDT had not issued any instructions to the Assessing Officer dealing with Shri Amitabh Bachchan’s case regarding recovery of tax arrears. They clarify that only letters were sent by speed post to his residential address. But what is all this fuss being made about the heartless income tax department? Is the department required to keep track the health of all the assessees before sending them letters? Or is it required only in the case of celebrities? Amitabh Bachan is known to be a good tax payer – we have information that he pays over Rs. Two Crores as Service Tax, which he is most likely not required to pay and which many others are not paying. But can the Income Tax department be blamed for sending him a “request letter” to pay his tax dues? Aren’t we all equal in the eyes of law and just because somebody’s name happens to be Amitabh Bachan, should he get a better treatment? After all the IT sleuths did not raid his hospital bed or coerced him into paying up. They only sent him a letter requesting him to pay some amount about which he was well aware. It can’t be said that this letter gave him a shock or any thing like that. And is every Income Tax officer in the country required to know about the greatness of BIG B? A news hungry press appears to be making a mountain of a mole hill.
I personally know of an incident where the Central Excise officers raided a house under the Gold Control Act, on the day when the betrothal ceremony was going on in the house. These officers knew that all the gold in the house will be on exhibition on that day. All the pleadings of the girl’s father with the Central Excise officers to postpone the raid till the ceremony was over fell on deaf ears. They went ahead and seized some gold and ruined the girl’s marriage. A few years of litigation brought their gold back to them but what about the future of the girl whose marriage was ruined? This happened some thirty years ago and even today the whole family carries a grudge against the department for spoiling the girl’s marriage. Nobody writes about such stories because the dramatis personae are not popular stars!